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S3 UNilTED STATES OF AMERICA. I 






ROBERTSON I AN METHOD. 



AN ANALYTIC AND SYNTHETIC 



COURSE OF LESSONS 



IN THE 



ENGLISH LANGUAGE, 



DKSIONED FOR 



THE USE OF PERSONS STUDYING THE LANGUAGE 
WITHOUT A MASTER. 

BY 

a; h. monteith, esq. 

HON. MEMB. W. L. C. 




KENT & RICHARDS, 51 & 52, PATERNOSTER ROW. 

Dublin : James M'Glashan, 21, Dolier Street. 

Glasgow: Murray & Son, 8, Argyle Street. 






LONDON: 
Printed by M. Mason, Ivy Lane, Paternoster Row. 



PREFACE. 



The accompanying Treatise is designed to enable the English 
learner, unacquainted with the principles of his own language, 
to write and speak correctly, without the aid of oral instruction. 

The desinences of the language, or the laws affecting the 
modification of the changeable words, are fully detailed under 
the general head Grammar; the rules to be observed in 
writing are pointed out under the head Construction ; and 
the usages of the polite and educated in speaking are exhibited 
under the head Pronunciation. These points may be re- 
garded as the leading elements in a rudimentary knowledge 
of the language ; and in bringing them under the attention 
of the learner, whilst brevity has been of necessity consulted, 
nothing of essential utility has been altogether omitted. 

It has, however, been our endeavour rather to suggest 
than to limit enquiry, — to shew in what a proper acquaintance 
with the language consists, than to lead the learner to rest 
satisfied with a limited consideration of so important a subject. 
There are many persons of some pretensions to general 
knowledge, who, perhaps from indolence, know little, and 
care less, about the principles of their own language, — who 
are content to write and speak conventionally, — trusting to 
cognate apathy or courtesy for escape from censure; but, 
notwithstanding the prevalence of this kind of negligence, to 
be ignorant of one's own language is, to say the least of it, 
somewhat unbecoming. 

There are, however, other circumstances besides mere pro- 
priety to be considered in relation to a knowledge of one's 
own language. Words of other languages have often to be 
used in the course of ordinary conversation, and these cannot 
be pronounced at random. Some speakers affect to pronounce 
foreign words according to the rules of the languages to 
which they belong; and this practice has already created 
numberless anomalies in the language ; but it is without the 
pale of possibility to know more than a mere fraction of the 
dialects of mankind, and it would be inconsistent to pronounce 
a Greek or a French word according to Attic or Gaulic rules, 
without at the same time pronouncing a Runic or Magyar 



IV PREFACE. 

word by a Scaldic or Sclavonic standard. All words used in 
English must be identified with the language, and this cannot 
be done properly unless its orthoepical tendencies are known. 

It has been alleged that a knowledge of general Grammar, 
renders a deliberate consideration of the English idiom super- 
fluous ; this is a very erroneous notion ; it is perfectly classic 
to say, ( A fighting in the dark well-disciplined soldier ; } or 
'Take money who figs to buy is;' and though no one in 
writing English would obey the rules that dictate such con- 
structions, yet many of our best writers, from an undue 
regard to the principles of general grammar, palpably, though 
less glaringly, violate the structure of their own language. 
It is a law of general grammar, that an article may be used 
for a possessive pronoun whenever no doubt can arise as to 
the possessor ; in accordance with this rule, the English say, 
' he gave up the ghost/ instead of ' he gave up his ghost ; ' 
but the French and Germans say, ( he wore an order on the 
breast, instead of ( on his breast ; ' and, in like manner, each 
idiom interprets a general law in its own way. 

It may be suggested that there are already an abundance 
of treatises extant, professing to aid the learner in writing 
and in speaking English. These are, however, for the most 
part, intended for the use of schools, and, consequently, are 
not adapted for the private student. Mr. Lindley Murray's 
8vo. Grammar is not accessible to the generality of students, 
besides which many of his rules are set at defiance by modern 
writers. Cobbett's work is confined to one branch of the 
subject — the Syntax ; he affects to despise pronunciation, and 
has a tendency to forget that what may be politically wrong 
may be grammatically right. Walker's and Smart's synopsis 
of the pronunciation are too elaborate, and generally, works 
on prosody are a mere melange of technical terms, utterly 
useless for any practical purpose. We have endeavoured in 
the accompanying Treatise to aid, at least, without perplexing, 
the beginner. No one can either write or speak correctly 
without the guidance of principles, and those we have given 
will suffice, if properly investigated, to enable the learner to 
avoid the every-day common-place errors with which speakers 
habitually shock the ear and writers fatigue the understanding. 

London, 1850. 



THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, 



LESSON FIRST. 



TEXT. 

Three travellers, who were almost perishing with 
hunger, found a treasure on their way : let one of us 
go, said they, and buy something to eat; one of them 
went away accordingly to procure the materials for a 
repast. 

PRONUNCIATION. 

In order to read the text correctly, it will be requisite for 
the learner to know the pronunciation of the letters, or rather 
the sounds these letters are employed to represent. 

The inhabitants of particular localities give sounds to the 
letters of certain words which are not given to the same letters 
by inhabitants of other localities : the digraph i ea' of the word 
' treasure,' for example, is not pronounced in every district of 
Great Britain precisely alike : the sound given to this digraph 
by the inhabitants of Lancaster is very different from that 
given to it by the natives of York. In London, the word 
1 treasure " is usually pronounced as if written ' tris-ure ;' in 
Edinburgh, as if written f trais-ure;' and in Dublin, as if 
written ' trus-ure ;' the natives of each county of England, 
shire of Scotland, and province of Ireland, pronounce the 
letters c ea * of the word ' treasure ' after a fashion of their 
own ; and some of these varieties of sound are so marked as 
to be readily traced to the localties whence they emanate. 
In all this there is much error : there can only be one way 
of pronouncing the word treasure, any deviation from which 
must be deemed a violation of English prosody. It will be 
the object of our remarks, under the head Pronunciation, to 
enable the learner to avoid what is wrong, and determine 
what is right, in such cases ; for which purpose, we propose, 
first, to show what are the actual sounds of the language, 



2 PRONUNCIATION. 

and then to point out when a particular letter or combination 
of letters should have one or other of these sounds. 

In matters of English pronunciation the sovereign authority 
is " common consent/' that is, the usage prevalent amongst 
the educated classes of English society. It may be thought 
that, as these classes are made up of individuals from all parts 
of the country, they cannot well have a pronunciation in 
common^ and consequently that the usage even of the learned 
and polite must be a vague authority. This is not however 
the case; individualisms abound, and are tolerated in good 
society, but the usage of the majority is perfectly con- 
sistent; in that no particular class of local sounds is found 
to predominate ; the variety of existing dialects has been sub- 
dued into uniformity, and the common tone is sufficiently 
palpable to determine the pronunciation of the language. 

As the learner, in reading or speaking, must therefore 
pronounce the words in the manner prescribed by this autho- 
rity, the first step towards accuracy in pronunciation is to 
ascertain the sounds it recognises; for it must be borne in 
mind that, in pronunciation, words are nothing more than an 
assemblage of sounds represented by certain signs; the sounds 
being the real elements of a word, the letters merely symbols. 

ENGLISH SOUNDS* 

The following is a table of all the sounds recognised by 
<e common consent ;" each sound is pointed out by a group 
of words containing dissimilar letters of identical pronun- 
ciation. It is hoped that the learner by attentively observing 
and comparing the sounds he is accustomed to give the letters 
cited, may detect the true pronunciation of at least one example 
in each group, and so determine the sound required. 

1. The sound of I in fin, diminish; A in cabbAge, villAge, 
courAge; Y in manY, anY; EI in surfEIt, forfEIt; AI in foun- 
tAIn, cert A In; UI in bUIld, biscUIt ; U in bUsv. 

2. I in fire, night, nigh; Y in mY ; UY in bUY ; EI in 
hEIght ; AI in Aisle, and of the affirmative AY, and the word EYE. 

3. 01 in bOIl, pOIson; OY in bOYant. 

4. E in mE, dEspair; I in diminish, direct; EE in bEEn, 
sEEn ; JE in medieval, ^Esthetic ; EA in wEAry, bEAt ; EI in 
decEIt, Either; IE in grIEf, sIEge ; EY in kEY; EO in 
pEOple. 

5. E in mErry, mEt, dEficit; A in Any, mAny, ThAmes; EA 
in rEAlm, drEAd, zEAlous ; IE in frIEnd, patlEnce ; AI in s Aid ; 
EO in lEOpard. 

6. A in mArry, cArry, tAx, wAx, Axe ; AI in plAId, rAIllery ; 
AU in drAUght. 

7- A in mAne, hAte, shAde ; AI in mAIne, rAln ; El in rEIgn, 
wEIgh ; AU in gAUge ; AO in gAOl. 



PRONUNCIATION. 3 

8.* A in MAry, cAre, shAre ; EA in wEAr, pEAr ; EI in hEIr, 
thEIr; E in thEre ; AI in hAIr. 

9. A in mAr, nArd, fAther, cAlm ; E in clErk ; AU in lAUgh, 
AUnt, lAUnch; UAingUArd; EA in hEArt. 

10. O in nOr, fOr; A in cAU, wAll; AU in nAUghty, fAUlt, 
tAUght; OU in sOUght, bOUght, thOUght; OA in brOAd. 

11. O in nOt, knOtty, brOth, clOth; A in yAcht, whAt, swAn ; 
OUincOUgh. 

12. O in nOte, nO, fOrce; OA in bOAt, cOAt, rOAd; OU in 
mOUld, cOUrt; OWin bOWl; EW in sEW; OUGH in dOUGH; 
EO in yEOman. 

13. U in cUr, spUrt, sUrgeon; I in mirth, virtue, bird; E in 
contravErt, assErt ; O in wOrd, wOrth ; EA in lEArn, hEArd. 

14. U in cUt, repUlsion; O in cOme, sOn, dOve; OU in 
dOUble, enOUgh, stupendOUs; 10 in natlOn, actlOn, petition; 
IOU in atrocIOUs; OO in blOOd; OE in dOEs; EO in surgEOn; 
EOU in outragEOUs. 

15. UinrUde; OO in fOOl, cuckOO, pOOr; O in mOve, tOmb ; 
OU in wOUund, thrOUgh; OE in shOE ; UI in frUIt. 

16. U in fUll, cUshion, bUsh, cUckoo ; 00 in wOOl; O in 
bOsom, wOman. 

17. U in tUbe, pleasUre; EU in fEUd; EW in fEW; EAU 
in bEAUty ; and of the words YOU, YEW, and EWE. 

18. OU in hOUr, trOUt ; OWin cOW; OUGH in drOUGHt, 
bOUGH, slOUGH.f 

CONSONANTS. 

19. The sound of H in beHave, misHap, inHale. 

20. WH in WHen, WHere. 

21. NG in siNG, riNGer, aimiNG; N in coNcord, thiNk, 
huNger. 

22. P in caP. 

23. B in caB. 

24. F in FiFe ; GH in enouGH, drauGHt, rouGH ; PH in 
ePHemera, PHilosoPHy. 

25. V in ValVe; PH in nePHew. 

26. TH in paTH, baTH, THin. 

27. TH in paTHs, baTHe, THis. 

28. S in Seal, thiS, yeS ; C in Cement, City, enCircle. 

29. Z in Zeal, Zounds ; S in roSe, iS, waS, diSmay, buSy, 
criticiSe; SCindiSCern; X in Xebec. 

* Walker in his Pronouncing Dictionary makes no distinction between 
the vowel sounds of the 7th and 8th groups, that is, he gives a in shade and 
a in share the same sound. The difference is certainly very slight, but the 
consonant r always affects in a lesser or greater degree the vowel sound 
immediately preceding. The same remark applies to the sounds of the 
13th end 14th groups. 

f We need scarcely direct attention to the confusion this table exhibits. 
So much irregularity calls loudly for reform. We have, however, merely 
to represent as faithfully as possible the language as it actually exists. 



4 PRONUNCIATION. 

80. Z in aZure, glaZier; S in pleaSure, meaSure, persuaSion, 
ASia, evaSion. 

31. SH in SHy; S in Sure, Sugar; T in paTient, naTion; C in 
oCean, atroCious; CH in quenCH, maCHine, CHarade. 

32. CHmCHurCH,suCH,CHary,treaCHery; TCHinwiTCH, 
diTCH. 

33. J in Jet; G in Gem, eleGy. 

34. TinTiT; GHT in fiGHT. 

35. D in DiD. 

36. K in worK; C in CritiC ; CH in CHasm, arCHitect; QUE 
in mosQUE, antiQUE ; Q, in Queen (pronounced kween). 

37. G in GiG; GH in GHost. 

38. L in LoLL. 

39. M in MiMe. 

40. NinNiNe. 

41. R in waR, RiveR. 

42. W in Wool ; U in qUote, qUart (pronounced kwot, qwart) ; 
O in Once (pronounced wunce). 

43. Y in Yield, Young; I in union, question (pronounced une- 
yun, quest-yun).* 

It will be seen from the above that the elements of English 
pronunciation consist of forty- three sounds. The learner's 
pronunciation will be more or less accurate, according as his 
enunciation of these sounds approaches more or less the con- 
ventional standard: a pure enunciation of any one sound 
should not be assumed until the intuitive or acquired impres- 
sion has been carefully tested. The learner should observe 
the difference, for example, between the sounds of o in nor 
and o in not, and see that this distinction is maintained, in 
pronouncing the other words of both groups, before concluding 
that any preconceived impression of either of these two sounds 
is correct; nothing is more likely to retard improvement than 
the self assumption of accuracy without rigid examination. 

The first essential in pronunciation is to know the sounds; 
the next is to utter them properly: 'Steele' in his ' Prosodia 
Rationalis' recommends all who are desirous of reading or 
speaking correctly to begin by ' exploding* the sounds; that is 
to enunciate each one of them curtly, like the report of a pistol; 
this practice by strengthening the voice, will give greater 
fullness in the utterance of the words; the hint should not 
therefore be neglected. 

* A few of the sounds enumerated in the foregoing table are in reality 
combinations; the sound represented by wh in when (pronounced hwen), is 
a combination of h and w : the sound of ch in church, such) pronounced 
tshurch, sutch), a combination of t and sh, and the sounds of j in jet and g 
in gem (pronounced dzhet, dzhem), are combinations of the 35th and 30th 
sounds. We have preferred giving these combinations as distinct sounds 
with a view to simplify the table. It is moreover quite immaterial whether 
they are regarded as simples or compounds. 



READING. O 

PRONUNCIATION OF THE TEXT. 

The following is a recapitulation of the text, showing how 
the words ought to be pronounced, the numbers refer to the 
vowel sounds as shown in the table; the letters printed in 
the italics are mute. The learner, before enunciating the 
sounds numbered, should refer to the examples in the table, 
by which means a greater degree of accuracy will be secured, 
and at the same time the relations existing between sound and 
letter more closely observed. 

4 6 1 13 15 5 10 12 5 11 

ThrEE trA-vEl-lErs, whO wEre Al-mOst pErlsh-Ing 

1 14 13 18 9 5 17 12 8 

with hunger (hUng-gUr), fOUnd A trEAs-Ure On thEIr 

7-5 14 12 14 12 5 76 2 

wAY : lEt one (wUn) Of Us gO, sAId thEY, And bUY 

14 1 15 4 14 12 5 5 6 7 

sOme-thlng tO EAt; one (wUn) Of thEm wEnt A-wAY 

6 12 l 1 15 , 12 17 4 6 4 16 1«3 9 

Ac-cOrd-Ing-lY tO prO-cUre thE mA-tE-rl-Als fOr A 

4 6 

rE-pAst. 

READING. 

The pronunciation of the words being known, the text 
should be read aloud. This exercise ought to be repeated 
till the ear becomes perfectly satisfied with the result. The 
art of reading well consists chiefly in being distinct and uncon- 
strained, in causing the words to flow from the lips without 
effort in easy rapid succession. The voice should be pitched 
in the natural tone, the sense of each sentence roundly ex- 
pressed, and the matter narrated in the familiar style of ordinary 
conversation. Reading aloud will accustom the ear to the 
sound of the voice; by practice the tones may be rendered 
obedient to the will, so that the degree of ease and freedom 
requisite to constitute a perfect reader is within reach of 
every diligent student. 

In reading, the learner should not stop to breathe, except 
where the sense admits of a pause; this rule is very generally 
violated by beginners : the words, " who were almost perishing 
with hunger," of the text, if closely observed, will be found in 
reality nothing more than an extended form of the single word 
1 hungry,' they should therefore, in reading, be regarded as a 
single word; the separation of the parts of a combination of 
this kind, by a pause however slight, would obscure the sense 
of the sentence, and might perhaps render the reader unin- 
telligible. A full breath should be taken at the beginning of 
a complete sentence, and a volume of air should be inhaled at 
each pause, sufficient to carry the voice firmly and smoothly 
along till a succeeding pause admits a fresh respiration. 



6 READING. 

Another fault common to beginners, which the learner 
should guard against, is that of dropping the voice at every 
pause, instead of at the completion of the sense : for example, 
though a pause may be made at the word l hunger' of the 
text, the sense of the first group of words not being complete, 
the voice must on no account be allowed to fall, but remain, 
if not slightly elevated, at least suspended; the word ' found' 
of the following group being uttered in precisely the same 
note. When the sense of a period is in suspension the voice 
should continue elevated, and only when the sense is completed 
be allowed to fall. 

It must not be supposed that e elevating the voice' in 
reading signifies loudness. We may slide the voice to a very 
great height, and yet read in a very low tone; or to a very 
great depth, and yet read in a loud tone; just as the violin 
may be affected by drawing the finger up or down the same 
string. In pronouncing the last syllable of the word e indeed/ 
uttered in an accent of surprise, we elevate the voice; in pro- 
nouncing the word e not' of the sentence f I will not go,' the 
voice is dropped; but it will be observed that these inflections 
are exceedingly slight. 

As a general rule never begin to read or speak in a high 
or low note. The slide of the voice ascending or descending 
begins on the accented syllable of an emphatic word, and care 
must be taken to select the proper word whereon to throw 
this emphasis; it will be observed that the import of the 
following sentences varies according as the emphasis is thrown 
upon one or other of the words : — 

Did three travellers find a treasure ? Here the question 

refers to the ' three travellers.' 
Did three travellers find a treasure ? Here the question 

refers to the 'treasure.' 
Did three travellers find a treasure ? Here the act of rinding 

is questioned. 

It will be useful for practice to read the text in all the 
pitches of which the voice is susceptible, from a loud tone to 
a whisper, as well as to read it slowly and rapidly; but in all 
these cases, each syllable and word must be clearly and 
distinctly enunciated; no mode of reading will prove bene- 
ficial in which this does not constitute a prominent feature. 
Be careful to give the letters of the middle or end of a word 
their full sound, a weak or thin voice with a distinct utterance 
will be readily understood in cases where a powerful voice 
with an indistinct utterance would be quite incomprehensible 



AIsALYSlS. 7 

TEXT WITH RHETORICAL PAUSES AND INFLECTIONS. 

The following is a repetition of the text with the inflections 
marked ; an acute accent thus (') show*., that the voice 
should be slightly elevated, a grave accent thus ( v ) shows that 
the voice should fall, and a bar thus ( | ) denotes the pauses. 

Three w travellers | who^were^almost^perishing^with 
hunger | found^a^treasure^on^their^way | let 6ne^, 
of^us w go | said w they | and^buy^something^to^eat | 
one w of w them w went w away w accordingly | to w procure w 
the w materials^for w a w repast. 

In reading, the points will have frequently to be disregarded : 
these marks are often introduced for the sole purpose of guarding 
against misconception ; and it is the duty of the reader to render a 
subject clear rather by emphasis than by pauses. 

ANALYSIS. 

The learner has now to determine the logical relations of 
the words in the text, and arrange them according to their 
affinity as elements of thought. 

All the words of the language have been classed into the 
nine following groups, called parts of speech, to one or 
other of which each word in the text must of necessity belong. 

1. The words a, an, and the, are called . . Articles. 

2. The names of persons, places, and things, as well as of abstract 
properties, as excellence, rectitude, generosity . Nouns. 

3. Words used to express the number, quality, or condition of 
nouns, as three travellers, bad wine, he is generous, Adjectives. 

4. Words that are used in the place of nouns, as who found 
it . . . . . . . . Pronouns. 

5. Words that affirm a state or condition in relation to time, 
as / am, 1 do, I feel, or express an action, / leap, as / dance, I sing, 

Verbs. 

6. Words used to extend the signification of other words, as I am 
very well, he found it there. .... Adverbs. 

7. Words that indicate a relation between two objects, as I am 
with him, I am for him, I am against him . Prepositions. 

8. Words used to connect other words or sentences, as i three 
travellers found a treasure, albeit they were hungry,' Conjunctions. 

9. Words that merely express a passing emotion, as zounds ! 
huzza! what ho I ha! . . . . Interjections. 

A word may belong to one or more of these groups if it is 
susceptible, as a member of a sentence, of filling more than 
one capacity ; thus, in ' a page full of buts,' the word i but'' is 
a noun; in c there is but one,' l but' is an adverb; in f no one 
but him,' ' but' indicates a relation between f one and him,' 
and is consequently a preposition ; in ' he says no., but he 



8 ANALYSIS. 

means yes,' ' but' is a conjunction. It is therefore rather by 
the sense in which a word is used, than by its form, that its 
place as a part of speech must be determined. 

These grand divisions of the words are subdivided into the 
following minor or subsidiary groups. 

The Articles are thus distinguished.: — 

1 . The being employed to point out some particular object, as the 
travellers, the intention, is said to be . . Definite. 

2. A or an implying no specific object, as a traveller, an inten- 
tion ... ...... Indefinite. 

Nouns, Pronouns, and Verbs, are classed according to 
number. 

1. When indicating- a single object, they are said to be in 
the ..... . . Singular Number. 

2. When indicating two or more objects Plural Number. 

Nouns and Pronouns are classed according to sex. 

1. When of the male sex, they are said to be in the 

Masculine Gender. 

2. When of the. female sex ., . Feminine Gender. 

3. When of neither sex . . . Neuter Gender. 
Nouns and Pronouns are further classed according to 

relation. 

1. When the subject of an action, they are said to be in the 

Nominative Case. 

2. When- involving a relation of affinity or descent, 

Possessive Case. 

3. When the object of an action . . Objective Case. 
Adjectives and Adverbs are classed according to degrees 

of comparison. 

1. When not involving any increase or diminution of the primitive 
meaning, as nigh, small, good, they are said to be in the 

Positive Degree. 

2. When involving an indefinite increase or diminution of the 
primitive meaning, as nigher, smaller, better, Comparative Degree. 

3. When involving a definite increase or diminution of the primi- 
tive meaning, as nighest, smallest, best . Superlative Degree. 

Pronouns are divided into the five following classes. 

1. When representing persons, as /went to him, he came to me, 
they are called ..... Personals. 

2. When relating to some antecedent, as the man who, Relatives. 

3 . When used in asking questions, as which of the travellers ? 

Interrogatives. 

4. When used to distinguish a particular object, as that treasure, 
their way . . .... Demonstratives. 

5. When indicating no particular object, as one went away, it is 
said ....... Indefinites. 



ANALYSIS. 9 

Verbs are divided into two classes, thus r — 

1. Verbs involving an affirmation which immediately affects an 
object, as he found me, I let him go, are called . Active. 

2. Verbs which affirm a state or action confined to the subject, as 
he walks, he sleeps, he dreams. .... Neuter. 

There is frequently a very nice distinction between an active 
and neuter verb, but it is exceedingly necessary to be able to 
make the distinction. The ear will be some aid in the matter; 
we say, for example, ' I lost him,' s I sought him,' ' I found 
him/ but we cannot say 'I walk him/ ( 1 sleep him,' 'I 
dream him/ the former are active, the latter neuter verbs. 
We may say, speaking of a horse, ' they walk him out daily,' 
this is a mere colloquial idiom; but, when the verb walk is 
employed under such circumstances, it entirely changes its 
character, and becomes for the time an active verb. 

Verbs are likewise distinguished according to the mode 
or manner in which a state or action is represented, 

1. When a verb merely names a state or action without involving 
the idea of number or person, as to he, to do, to touch, it is said to 
be in the ...... Infinitive Mood. 

2. When a verb simply declares the state or action, as he is, he 
does, he touches, in the .... Indicative Mood. 

3. When a verb exhorts or commands, as be, do, touch, in the 

Imperative Mood. 

4. When a verb indicates an action or state as doubtful, and 
expresses a dependent meaning, as 'were he to touch it, it would 
fall / l ifhe do so, the consequences may be fatal / 'although he touch 
it, it might not run/ .... Subjunctive Mood. 

Verbs are again distinguished according to the period of 
time in which the state or action is affirmed. 

1. When expressing a state or action in actual operation, as I am, 
I do, 1 touch, the verb is said to be in the . Present Tense. 

2. When expressing a past state or act accomplished, as I was, 
I did, 1 touched, in the .... Past Tense. 

3. When expressing a future state or act to be accomplished, as 
I will be, I will do, I will touch, in the . Future Tense. 

Verbs that have an adjective signification are divided into 
two classes. 

1. When expressing an actual state, as being, doing, touching, 
verbs are called . . . . . Present Participles. 

2. When expressing a past state, as been, done, touched, 

Past Participles. 

analysis of the text. 
The process of analysing a sentence, and assigning each 
word to its particular class, is called parsing. The following 
is a repetition of the text with the words parsed, that is 
classified in accordance with the foregoing table. 



10 ANALYSIS. 

Three, adjective of number, qualifying the word ' travellers.' 
Travellers, noun, plural number, nominative case, subject 
of the verb ' found.' Who, relative pronoun, nominative case, 
masculine gender, agreeing with its antecedent ' three 
travellers/ Were, verb neuter, third person, plural number, 
indicative mood, present tense, agreeing with its nominative 
'three travellers.' Almost, adverb, extending the signification 
of the verb 'were.' Perishing, adjective, because it indicates 
a condition of the 'three travellers/ and a verb, because it 
affirms a state of being in relation to time, and a present par- 
ticiple, because it participates in the properties of both these 
classes of words. With, preposition, expressing a relation of 
affinity between 'three travellers' and 'hunger.' Hunger, 
noun, singular number, neuter gender, objective case. Found, 
verb active, third person, plural number, indicative mood, 
present tense, agreeing with its nominative 'three travellers.' 
A, indefinite article. Treasure, noun, singular number, 
neuter gender, objective case. On, preposition, expressing a 
relation between 'the treasure' and 'their way.' Their, 
personal pronoun, plural number, masculine gender, possessive 
case. Way, noun, singular number, neuter gender, objective 
case. Let, verb active, imperative mood. One, indefinite 
pronoun, objective case. Of, preposition, expressing a relation 
between ' one' and ' three travellers.' Us, personal pronoun, 
plural number, objective case. Go, verb neuter, infinitive 
mood. Said, verb neuter, third person, plural number, indi- 
cative mood, past tense, agreeing with its nominative 'they.' 
And, conjunction, joining the sentence 'let one of us go' with 
'buy something to eat.' Buy, verb active, infinitive mood. 
Something, noun, singular number, neuter gender, objective 
case. To, a particle belonging to the verb 'eat' that follows. 
To eat, verb active, infinitive mood. One, indefinite pronoun, 
singular number, nominative case. Of, preposition, expressing 
a relation between 'one' and 'them.' Them, personal pronoun, 
plural number, objective case. Went, verb neuter, third 
person, singular number, indicative mood, past tense, agreeing 
with its nominative 'one.' Away, adverb, extending the 
signification of the verb 'went.' Accordingly, adverb, 
qualifying the act of going. To, a particle belonging to 
the verb following. To procure, vei % b active, infinitive 
mood. The, definite article. Materials, noun, plural 
number, neuter gender, objective case. For, preposition, 
expressing a relation between 'materials' and 'repast.' 
A, indefinite article. Repast, noun, singular number, neuter 
gender, objective case. 



11 

GRAMMAR. 

The term 'Grammar/ as usually applied, is employed to 
signify all the properties of language from the sound of a 
letter to the rounding of a period. Under the head Grammar, 
however, the learner's attention will be directed to one branch 
of the subject only — to that which treats of the modifications 
of English words, and shows how these changes are effected. 
All the rules given under this head ought to be committed 
to memory. A perfect acquaintance with the laws governing 
the variable words is necessary, in order to speak or write 
with an ordinary degree of propriety. 

NOUNS. 

1. The plural number is formed by adding s to the singular, as 
traveller, travellers; treasure, treasures; repast, repasts. 

2. Nouns ending in sh, ch (soft), s, x, or o, form the plural by 
adding es, as bush, bushes ; witch, witches ; glass, glasses ; box, boxes ; 
potato, potatoes. 

Nouns from the Italian and proper names ending in o follow the 
first rule, as portico, porticos; grotto, grottos; quarto, quartos; 
Cicero, the Ciceros. 

3. Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant change y into 
ies, as duty, duties ; city, cities ; navy, navies. 

Nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel follow the first rule, as 
attorney, attorneys; boy, boys; bay, bays. 

It is a very common error to write nuisancies, consciencies, pestilen- 
cies; the singular of such words not ending in y, they have nothing 
to do with ies in plural. 

4. Nouns ending in / or fe form the plural by changing / or fe 
into ves, as leaf, leaves ; wife, wives. 

But nouns in oof, ief, ff, and rf, follow the first rule, as hoof, hoofs; 
grief, griefs; muff, muffs; wharf, wharfs; except thief and staff, 
which become thieves, staves. 

5. The following nouns form their plurals irregularly, man, men ; 
woman, women; ox, oxen; mouse, mice; louse, lice; sheep, sheep ; 
deer, deer; penny, pence ; goose, geese ; tooth, teeth; foot, feet. 

6. Nouns from the ancient languages generally follow the fore- 
going rules, as automaton, automatons; cesthetic, (Esthetics; but the 
following have the plurals of the languages to which they belong, 
antithesis, antitheses; axis, axes; basis, bases; hypothesis, hypo- 
theses; metamorphosis, metamorphoses; vortix, vortices; datum, data; 
effluvium, effluvia; erratum, errata; stratum, strata; stamen, stamina; 
focus, foci; genius, genii; radius, radii; genus, genera; miasma, 
miasmata; hiatus, hiatus; species, species; series, series; larva, 
larvce ; lamina, lamince. 

7. Some nouns are used in the singular only, as welfare, goodness, 
physic, gold, silver, wine, food; others only in the plural, as scissors, 
tongs, metaphysics. 

GENDER. 

Thefeminine isformed by adding ss or ess to the masculine, asprince, 



12 GRAMMAR. 

princess; author, authoress ; but generally the masculine and femi- 
nine have each a distinct form, as king, queen ; duke, duchess, 

CASE. 

1. The possessive is formed by adding s with an apostrophe to 
the nominative, as the queen's palace. 

When several nouns are in the possessive case the sign is appended 
to the last, as Pit, Fox, and Burke's speeches ; but when the object 
possessed is not the same, the sign will have to be repeated, as the 
enemy stormed the queen's army's entrenchments; it will be better 
however, in a case of this kind, to say, the enemy stormed the en- 
trenchments of the queen's army. 

2. Plural nouns form the possessive by adding an apostrophe 
only, as their majesties' palace, 

3. Singular nouns ending in 55 follow the first rule, as the prin- 
cess's theatre; the duchess's palace, but when the succeeding word 
begins with a vowel, the s is generally omitted, as the princess 9 
opinions, the duchess 1 earrings* 

Bear in mind that the possessive case does not affect nouns in the 
same way as number, it is an error to say, Her Majestie's service, 
the companie's authority. 

ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS. 

1. The comparative degree is formed by adding r or er to the 
positive, as wise, wiser ; often, oftener. 

2. The superlative is formed by 52 or est, to the positive, as wise, 
wisest; often, oftenest. 

3. Words of two or more syllables form the comparative and 
superlative by adding more and most, as positive, generous; com- 
parative, more generous ; superlative^ most generous. 

Dissyllables ending in y may follow the first and second rules, in 
which case y is changed into i, as pretty, prettier, prettiest ; happy, 
happier, happiest; lovely, lovelier, loveliest. 

4. The following are compared irregularly. 



Positive. 


Comparative. 


Superlative. 


good 


better 


best 


bad 


worse 


worst 


little 


less 


least 


much or ) 
many ) 


" more 


most 







PRONOUNS. 

The following table embraces all the varieties of form peculiar to 
this class of words. ___ • ^, , _ „ 

PERSONALS. 
Singular Number. 

Nominative Case. Possessive Case. Objective Case, 

First person I my or mine me 

Second person thou thy or thine thee 

Third person he, she, or it his, hers, or its him, her, or it 

Plural Number. 

First person we our oV ours us 

Second person you your or yours you 

Third person they their or theirs them 





GRAMMAR. 






RELATIVES. 




Nominative, Possessive. 
who whose 


Objective 
whom 


which 
that 


of which 
of that 


which 
that 



13 



Masculine and { 
Feminine ) 

Neuter 
All genders 

VERBS. 

The verbs are subject to a corresponding series of changes ; a 
single verb, therefore, exhibited in all its forms will serve as a key 
to the inflection of this class of words. 

infinitive mood, — to explain. 

INDICATIVE MOOD: 

Present Tense. 
Singular. Plural. 

First person I explain First person we explain 

Second person thou explain-est Second person you explain 

Third person he explain-s Third person they explain 

Past Tense. 

First person I explain-ed First person we explain-ed 

Second person thou explain-edst Second person you explain-ed 

Third person he explain-ed Third person they explain-ed 

imperative mood, — explain. 

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. 

First person if I explain First person if we explain 

Second person if thou explain Second person if you explain 

Third person if he explain Third person if they explain* 

PARTICIPLES. 

Present, explain-ing Past, explain-ed 

When a verb is made ta assume in this way all the forms of which 
it is susceptible, it is said to be conjugated ; and in conjugating the 
verbs, the following rules will have to be observed. 

1. When the infinitive (which is the form given in dictionaries) 
ends in e, the past tense and past participle are formed by adding d 
only, as to hope, hoped; the second person singular, present tense, 
by adding st only, as thou hope-st. In forming the present participle 
the e is dropped, as to hope, hop-ing ; to come, com-ing ; to judge, 
judg-ing. 

But when the infinitive ends in ee both e's are retained in forming 
the participle, as to flee, flee-ing. 

2. When the infinitive ends in s, h, x, o, or z, the third person 
singular, present tense, is formed by adding es, as to cross, he cross-es; 
to perish, he perish-es ; to box, he box-es; to do, he do-es ; to quizz, 
he quizz-es. 

* The words though, unless, grant, allow, or any other hypothetical 
particle may be joined to a subjunctive, as well as the word if, which is 
used merely as a sign. These particles do not necessarily imply the use of 
the subjunctive, but may likewise be used with the indicative forms of the 
verb. 



14 SYNTHESIS. 

3. When the infinitive ends in y, preceded by a consonant, the 
third person singular is formed by changing y into ies, as to carry, 
he carr-ies ; to marry, he marr-ies ; the second person, by changing 
y into iest, as thou carr-iest, thou marr-iest ; the past tense and past 
participle, by changing y into ied, as carr-ied, marr-ied. 

Bear in mind that it is only when y is preceded by a consonant 
that modifications occur ; when, y is preceded by a vowel, the verb 
obeys the model, as to delay, he delays, thou delay-est, he delay-ed. 

4. When the infinitive ends in ie the present participle is formed 
by changing ie into y, as to lie, ly-ing ; to die, dying. 

5. When the verb is a word of one syllable ending with a single 
consonant preceded by a single vowel, the consonant is doubled in 
forming the past tense and participles, as to stop, stop-ped, stopping ; 
to hop, hop-ped, hop- ping ; to drop, drop-ped, drop-ping; to bet, 
bet-ted, bet-ting. 

6. When a verb ending with a single consonant preceded by a 
single vowel, is a word of two syllables with the accent on the last, 
the consonant is likewise doubled, as to prefer, prefer-red, prefer- 
ring ; to confer, confer-red, confer-ring ; to remit, remit-ted, remit- 
ting. 

Some verbs ending in I double the final consonant, although the 
accent is not on the final syllable, as to travel, travel-led, travel-ling; 
to revel, revel-led, revel-ling. 

In the next lesson the irregular verbs, that is, certain verbs 
which assume forms not in accordance with the foregoing rules, will 
be pointed out. 

SYNTHESIS. 

Analysis, as we have seen, is tfce art of reducing a sentence 
to its primitive elements; the art of reconstructing these 
elements into sentences, so as to express a distinct idea or 
some phase of thought, is called synthesis. 

For practice in synthesis, and as a first step in writing, the 
learner is required to reconstruct the following sentences 
agreeably to the directions accompanying each group, and in 
accordance with the rules given under the head Grammar. 
A corrected version of these sentences will be given as a 
reading exercise in the next lesson. 

[Put the nouns of the following sentences into the plural 
number.] 

1. There was an ox, a sheep, bread, and wine. 

2. They found a diamond, a ruby, an amethyst, a topaz, gold, and 
silver. 

3. The inconsistency of the three travellers. 

4. Their opportunity, negligence, uncertainty, and imprudence. 

5. The duty, delay, and obstinacy of the travellers. 

6. The obliquity of the road. 

7. Its irregularity and smoothness. 



SYNTHESTS. 15 

[Construct the following sentences with an inflected form 
of the possessive case; as, from 'The story of the traveller/ 
form ( the traveller's story.'] 

8. The story of the traveller. 

9. The story of the travellers. 

10. A story told by the traveller. 

11. The portrait of her Majesty. 

12. The portraits of their majesties. 

13. One of the portraits belonging to her Majesty. 

14. The horse of the prince. 

15. The horses of the princes. 

16. One of the horses belonging to the prince. 

17. The palace of the princess. 

18. The palace of the princesses. 

19. One of the palaces belonging to the princess. 

20. A book belonging to Jones. 

21. A book belonging to the Joneses. 

22. One of the books written by Jones, 

[Convert the nominatives of the following sentences into 
objectives, by reversing the construction; as, from ' he and she 
spoke to them/ form ' they spoke to him and her.'] 

23. We met the travellers. 

24. He and I sought the travellers. 

25. She conversed with the travellers. 

26. Will they go with the travellers? 

27. Did he meet the travellers on the road ? 

28. We know not those travellers. 

29. Thou confidest not in the travellers. 

[Introduce a relative into the following sentences ; as, from 
'the treasure was found,' form 'the treasure which was found.'] 

30. The traveller prepared a repast. 

31. The traveller's repast was prepared. 

32. The repast was prepared by the traveller. 

33. The materials were prepared for a repast. 

34. The travellers met us on the road. 

35. The travellers we met on the road. 

36. The travellers conversed with us. 

37. The travellers we conversed with. 

38. The travellers' conversation we enjoyed. 

39. The conversation we enjoyed. 

40. Of the three travellers, two remained with the treasure, and 
one went to buy something to eat ; the last never returned. 

[Put the adjectives and adverbs of the following sentences 
into the superlative degree ] 

41. The merry travellers. 

42. The dry travellers. 

43. The gay and rich travellers. 

44. The first traveller arrived late and ate less. 



16 SYNTHESIS. 

45. The second traveller went farther. 

46. The good travellers. 

47. The three travellers acted imprudently. 

48. The travellers were uncourteous. 

49. The great degree of energy. 

50. A remarkable adventure of the three travellers. 

[Turn a verb in each of the following sentences into the 
infinitive mood, as from the sentence f the travellers wish they 
had procured materials for a repast/ form 'the travellers wish 
to procure materials for a repast/] 

51. The travellers have explained their meaning. 

52. Have they declared their intentions? 
£3. They have concealed their designs. 

54. The travellers wish that they had acknowledged their error. 

55. Do they wish that they had carried out their projects ? 

56. The three travellers hope that they may reach their destina- 
tion with the treasure. 

57. Do they hope that they may find the owner? 

58. They wish that they could restore the treasure to the proper 
owner. 

59. Did they wish that they had obtained materials for a repast ? 
[Put the nouns and pronouns of the following sentences 

into the third person singular, and the verbs into the corre- 
sponding person and tense of the indicative mood; as, from 
' the travellers procured materials for a repast, and then appeased 
their hunger/ form ' the traveller procures materials for a repast, 
and then appeases his hunger. 5 ] 

60. The travellers having obtained water assuaged their thirst. 

61. The travellers discover a treasure, and revel in wealth. 

62. They perish with hunger, but hope to obtain materials for a 
repast. 

63. The travellers assume a disguise and conceal the treasure. 

64. They carry out their designs, and continue their journey. 

65. The travellers endeavour to obtain materials for a repast, but 
procure none. 

66. They perish with hunger, and die on the road. 

[Employ a present participle in the following sentences, as 
from the sentence ' though the travellers possessed riches, yet 
they had nothing to eat,' form ' though possessing riches, yet 
the travellers had nothing to eat.'] 

67* Three travellers, anxious to see the world, begin a journey. 

68. They feel hungry, and send to procure materials for a repast. 

79. They hoped to obtain something to eat, but were disappointed. 

70. They reflect on their position, and change their route. 

71. They continued onwards and found a treasure. 

72. Thus they obtained wealth, and they rejoiced exceedingly. 



THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



LESSON SECOND. 



READING. 

The following is a corrected version of the exercise given 
in the first lesson. 

1. There were oxen, sheep, bread, and wine. 2. They 
found diamonds, rubies, amethysts, topazes, gold, and silver. 
3. The inconsistencies of the three travellers. 4. Their 
opportunities, negligences, uncertainties and imprudences. 

5. The duties, delays, and obstinacies of the travellers. 

6. The obliquities of the road. 7. Its irregularities and 
smoothnesses. 8. The traveller's story. 9. The travellers' 
story. 10. A story of the traveller's. 11. Her Majesty's 
portrait. 12. Their majesties' portraits. 13. A portrait of 
Her Majesty's. 14. The prince's horse. 15. The princes' 
horses. 16. A horse of the prince's. 17. The princess's 
palace. 18. The princesses' palace. 19. A palace of the 
princess's. 20. Jones's book. 21. The Joneses' book. 22. 
A book of Jones's. 23. The travellers met us. 24. The 
travellers sought him and me. 25. The travellers conversed 
with her. 26. Will the travellers go with them. 27. Did 
the travellers meet him on the road. 28. Those travellers 
know us not. 29. The travellers confide not in thee. 30. 
The traveller who prepared a repast. 31. The traveller 
whose repast was prepared. 32. The repast which was pre- 
pared by the traveller. S3. The materials that were prepared 
for a repast. 34. The travellers who met us on the road. 
35. The travellers whom we met on the road. 36. The 
travellers who conversed with us. 37. The travellers with 
whom we conversed. 38. The travellers whose conversation 
we enjoyed. 39. The conversation which we enjoyed. 40. 
Of the travellers, two remained with the treasure, and one 
went to buy something to eat; which last never returned. 
41. The merriest travellers. 42. The dry est travellers. 43. 
The gayest and richest travellers. 44. The first traveller 
arrived latest and ate least. 45. The second traveller went 
farthest. 46. The best travellers. 47. The travellers acted 
most imprudently. 48. The travellers were most uncourteous. 

c 



18 HEADING. 

49. The greatest degree of energy. 50. A most remarkable 
adventure of the three travellers. 5 1 . The travellers have to 
explain their meaning. 52. Have they to declare their inten- 
tions? 53. They have to conceal their designs. 54. The 
travellers wish to acknowledge their'error. 55. Do they wish 
to carry out their projects ? 56. The three travellers hope to 
reach their destination with the treasure. 57. Do they hope 
to find the owner? 58. They wish to restore the treasure 
to the proper owner. 59. Did they wish to obtain materials 
for a repast. 60. The traveller obtains water and assuages 
his thirst. 61. The traveller discovers a treasure and revels 
in wealth. 62. He perishes with hunger, but hopes to obtain 
materials for a repast. 63. The traveller assumes a disguise 
and conceals the treasure. 64. He carries out his designs 
and continues his journey. 65. The traveller endeavours to 
obtain materials for a repast, but procures none. 66. He 
perishes with hunger, and dies on the road. 6T. Three 
travellers, desirous of seeing the world, begin a journey. 68. 
Feeling hungry, they send to procure materials for a repast* 
69. Hoping to obtain something to eat, they were dis- 
appointed. 70. Reflecting on their position, they change 
their route. 71. Continuing onwards, they find a treasure. 
72. Thus obtaining wealth, they rejoice exceedingly. 

TEXT* 

The numbers refer to the vowel sounds of the table given 
in the first lesson; the letters in italics are silent. 

4 6 1 13 15 4 9 5 5 15 1 5 

ThE trA-vEMEr whO dE-pAr-tEd, sAId tO hlm-sElf : 

2 13 4 15 2 11 6 14 6 

I will pOI-son thE fOOd— mY cOm-pAn-ions (yUns) shAll 

2 6 10 4 5 17 6 4 2 4 10 

die— And All thE trEAs-Ure shAll bE mine: thE thOUght 

11 II 12 2 4 4 4 16 3 1 4 

wAs fOl-lOw-ed bY thE dEEd; hE pUt pOI-son In thE 

2 6 6 4 6 10 

vI-Ands thAt hE hAd bOUght. 

The following is a repetition of the foregoing, with the 
marks indicating the rhetorical inflections and pauses, 
explained under the head reading of the preceding lesson. 

The^traveller w who w departed | said^to^himself | I w 

will^poison^the^food | my^companions^shall^die 

and^all w the w treasure w shall w be^mine | the w thought^ 

was w foliowed w by^the w deed | he^put_poison w in w the 

v _viands w that^he w had^bought. 



PRONUNCIATION. 19 

PRONUNCIATION. 

Under this head, first lesson, the general relations of sound 
and letter were pointed out; the learner will now have to 
ascertain when, and under what circumstances, a particular 
letter has one, and when another sound. 

If every simple sound were represented by a single letter 
or combination of letters, and the same letter or combination 
were always appropriated to the same sound, a knowledge of 
the pronunciation of the letters alone would enable the learner 
to pronounce a word in all cases correctly. As the language 
exists, each sound is represented by a variety of letters, and 
consequently each letter or combination has a variety of 
sounds:* the digraph ea has one sound in the word ' heart,' 
another in the word ' entreat,' a third in the word ' treasure ' 
and in the word ' create;' the letters e and a belong to separate 
syllables, in which case each vowel has a distinct sound. 

The distribution of the sounds is affected in a lesser or greater 
degree by accent, and also in some measure by the relative 
position of a syllable. In order to determine the pronuncia- 
tion of a letter, the accent and syllabication of the word will 
in some cases have first to be ascertained ; it will be requisite 
therefore for the learner to acquire the general principles of 
these two modifying influences. 

ACCENT. 

In reading or speaking every expiration is marked by a 
series of varying impulses, arising from the organic action of 
the voice : every simple sound or combination of simple sounds 
pronounced during one of these impulses constitutes a syllable. 
A word contains either one or more syllables, and that syllable 
which receives a more forcible impulse than another is said to 
be accented. 

When a word consists of three or more syllables, two or 
more of these syllables may be accented, but one of these 
accents must be superior to the others. The syllable upon 
which the greatest stress of the voice is thrown is said to have 
the 'primary accent;' that which receives the subordinate im- 
pulse is said to have the { secondary accent.' If a syllable 
upon which the primary accent is thrown be preceded or 
followed by more than two syllables, one of them must have 
the secondary accent; one unaccented syllable must intervene 
between the primary and secondary accent, but beyond the 
observance of this rule there is little in the allocation of the 
subordinate impulses that calls for particular attention. 

* Much might be done towards remedying this evil ; the pronunciation 
and orthography of the language are susceptible of assimilation ; the efforts 
of Pitman and others in this direction merit attention. 



20 PRONUNCIATION. 

The position of the primary accent, on the other hand, con- 
stitutes a leading feature in the pronunciation of every word 
containing two or more syllables. It would be an error, for 
example, in pronouncing the word ludicrous, to throw the stress 
of the voice upon the second or third syllable; the analogy of 
the language, as well as common usage, requires the accent 
in such words to fall upon the first syllable, thus, ludicrous, 
luminous, humorous. Again, in such words as reference, defer - 
ence, all the vowels, except the last, which is silent, should 
have the same sound : but the accent falling upon the first 
syllable, these words are colloquially pronounced as if written 
refrns, defrns, the unaccented vowels being scarcely, if at all, 
heard. The learner has already been cautioned against slurring 
any letters in this way; an error however of much greater 
magnitude would arise from throwing the stress of the voice 
upon a wrong syllable, and pronouncing such words as if 
written rferns, dferns. The meaning of a word, moreover, is 
frequently dependent upon the position of the primary accent; 
the word subject, when accented on the first syllable is a noun, 
but becomes a verb when the stress of the voice is thrown 
upon the second. 

With regard to accent, considered as an agent in the allo- 
cation of the sounds, it may be as well to observe generally, 
that in such words as definite, deficit, which are accented on 
the first syllable, e has the sound of e in met, whilst in such 
words as define, defile, which are accented on the last, e has 
the sound of e in me. 

GENERAL RULES. 

1. Nouns and adjectives of two syllables have the accent on the 
first ; as, 'practice, empire, solemn, prudent. 

2. Verbs and adverbs of two syllables have the accent on the 
last ; as, to rebel', to detain, around', apart'. 

3. Words of more than two syllables have the accent on the ante- 
penultimate, that is, the last syllable but two ; as, or'-na-ment, in- 
ci-dent, va-ri'-e-ty, e-lab'-o-rate, con'-tra-ry. The following are some 
further examples of this rule : — 

mani'acle aeros'copy aristoc racy 

demoniacal metopos'copy idiosync'racy 

hypocondri'acal diagonal cosmogony 

ammoni'acal polygonal hexag'ony 

geneal'ogy somniferous symphony 

ambil'ogy cocciferous cacophony 

geography mellifluous theom'achy 

historiography fellifluous sciom'achy 

sarcoph'agus viviparous anatomy 

androph'agus oviparous iithot'omy 

ventriloquy antip'athy polym'athy 

catas'trophy idiop'athy opsim'athy 



PRONUNCIATION. 21 

When, however, two or more consonants immediately precede the 
last syllable, the accent falls upon the penultimate or last syllable 
but one ; as, incidental, ornamental, perce/Ztfive, demonstrate. 

The exceptions to these rules are somewhat numerous: this 
arises in some instances from the practice of giving words 
derived from other languages the accent they have in the 
original; the word sonorous, according to the third rule, should 
have the accent upon the antepenultimate; but classical 
authority steps in and says the accent must be placed on the 
second syllable, thus, sono'-rous, because the word is so pro- 
nounced in Latin.* 

A large number of the exceptions are embraced under the 
two following heads : — 

1. Common terminations and prefixes are not generally accented : 
the word misdeed, according to the first rule, should be accented on 
the first syllable, but ' mis ' being a prefix common to a multitude 
of words, the accent falls upon the root ' deed ;' again, the poly- 
syllable misfortune has the accent for the same reason upon the 
second syllable, and so in the case of other words holding a particle 
in combination ; as entreaty, inquiry, to cherish, to nourish, to 
damage, to ravel, to revel, to travel, accept', deceit, conceit'. 

2. Words derived from other words generally retain the accent of 
the primitive (this is merely an extension of the foregoing rule); as, 
polite, impolite, impoliteness; honour, dishonour, dishonourably, 
dishonourableness ; interest, disinterested, disinterestedness. 

It would exceed our limits to give a complete list of the 
exceptions; the following are the leading words of irregular 
classes; these, if committed to memory, may enable the learner 
to accent the other members of the same families correctly. 
Observe that the terminations generally determine the position 
of the accent: the adjective malign, for example, is accented 
on the last syllable, and is consequently an exception to the 
first rule ; so, other adjectives ending in ign, as condign, indign, 
are likewise accented on the last syllable. In addition to 
the types of classes, the more marked instances of isolated 
exception are included in the following table : — 

NOUNS, 
abyss' ally' balloon' 2 



* This is another anomaly of English prosody susceptible of remedy : a 
few fixed general principles of native analogy should enable us to speak 
correctly without being obliged to make philology the only sure guide to 
our pronunciation. 

1 Nouns having ea in the concluding syllable are accented like arrear; 
as, appeal', release, disease', decease, except ven'geance, sergeant, pageant, 
which are regular. 

2 There are a large number of nouns having oo in the last syllable ; as, 
saloon', pantaloon, baboon, bamboo, all of which are accented like balloon. 

3 Nouns ending in ade ; as, barricade, bastinude, grenade, are accented 



PRONUNCIATION. 



contents 


device 


pretext' 


control' 


grimace' 


profile' 


demise 


manure' 


recess' 


desert' (merit) 


morass' 


surmise' 


dessert' 


ADJECTIVES. 


• 


canine' 


oblique' 


select' 


demure' 


occult' 


serene' 


diffuse' 


perverse' 


succinct' 


malign' 


precise' 


supine' 


morose' 


replete' 


supreme' 


oblate' 


saline' 
VERBS. 




to augur 


to har'ass 


to respite 


to canvas 


to menace 


to smother 


to cen'sure 


to minute 


to summon 


to com'ment 


to perfect 


to traverse 


to cov'et 


to prac'tise 


to tres'pass 


to des'tine 


to rally 

POLYSYLLABLES. 


to vacate 


ab'dicative 1 


apparatus 


diploma 


absentee' 


asylum 


disciple 


ac'cessary' 


bitumen 


disputable 


ac'cessory 


comparable 


elegiac 


ace'tous 


complaisant' 


elicit 


adja'cent 


complacent 


emenda'tor 4 


ad'mirable 


decorum 


exemplary 5 


advertisement 


ded'icator 3 


fanat'ic 6 


amaurosis 2 


demol'ish 


hori'zon 



like cascade, on the last syllable ; except comrade, decade, mon'ade, which 
are regular. 

1 When words of more than three syllables change the termination ate 
(preceded by a single vowel) into alive, the original accent is retained ; as, 
to ab'dicate, ab'dicative, to vindicate, vindicative, to speculate, speculative, 
except indicative and interrogative, from to indicate and to interrogate, 
which are regular. 

2 All words ending in osis have the accent on the penult syllable, except 
apothe'osis and metamorphosis, which are regular. 

3 Words ending in ator, derived from verbs; as, ded'icator from to 
ded'icate, navigator from to navigate, prop'agator from to propagate, retain 
the accent of the verb. 

4 Words ending in ator, which have no corresponding English verb, are 
accented on the penultimate ; as, adulator, gladiator, spectator, except 
barrator, legator, orator, senator, which are regular. 

5 Words of four syllables ending in ary, org, erg, ony, any, oly, ancy, 
culture, and arcliy, have the accent generally on the first syllable; as, 
sanitary, sanatory, imagery, matrimony, miscellany, necromancy, agricul- 
ture, hierarchy. 

6 When ic occurs in a word the accent falls upon the syllable immediately 
preceding, whether penult or antepenult; as, democratic, canonical, 



PRONUNCIATION. 23 

illu'sive pap'illary 7 quiescent 8 

intrep'id picturesque' reputable 

opportune' privateer' subaltern 

Besides the accent on single words to which the foregoing 
remarks refer, and accent peculiar to groups of words noticed 
under the head Reading, there is a further modification of the 
speaking tones — known as native accent. Good speakers 
avoid any marked degree of this kind of accent; but of the 
many local inflections common to the language, that heard in 
the Metropolis is necessarily considered the standard. The 
aggregate modulation of the voice in speaking signified by the 
term ' native accent,' is more, however, a matter of harmony 
than an element of pronunciation : it comes under no imme- 
diate law of prosody, and consequently any rythmical cadence 
that is most agreeable to the ear is most to be preferred.* 
The local inflection heard in the pronunciation of what are 
called the Cinque Ports, of which Dover is the capital, appears 
to our ear more characteristic and more euphonous than that 
of London. The short sound of a in the word glass, is con- 
sidered indigenous to the Fens of Lincoln ; may not likewise 
the Wolds of Kent be the seat of our native accent ? 

In concluding the remarks on accent, it may be advisable 
to notice the term l quantity/ which appears in most works 
treating English Grammar. In the dead languages, quantity 
has a modifying power, and is consequently an actual pro- 
perty, but the term signifies no real entity in English prosody. 
It is customary, in practice, to give obscure sounds to certain 
unaccented vowels, and from this circumstance a useless 
theory has been elaborated, dignified by the term quantity, 
and clothed by some writers with much learned pedantry. 
Beyond the euphonic shortening or elision of certain vowel 
sounds, admissible perhaps in a colloquial style, there is no 
feature of English pronunciation to which the term ' quantity' 
can be properly applied ; and the prosody of the language is 
sufficiently complex without being encumbered by a hypo- 
thetical difficulty. . 

heret'ical, levitVcal, forensic, harmon'ic ; the only exceptions are arithmetic, 
arsenic, bish'opric, chol'eric, empiric, ep hem eric, lunatic, politic, rhetoric, 
splenetic, which follow the general rule, 

7 This class of words have the accent, very generally, on the first 
syllable; as, ar miliary, axillary, capillary, mam miliary, med'ullary. 

6 Words en ding in scence ; as, acquiescence, reminiscence, are accented on 
the penultimate, except concupiscence, which is regular. 

* We may here call attention to the distinction between ' native accent' 
and * dialect.' When a peasant of Somersetshire says, 'eez zur' for yes sir, 
he speaks in the Somersetshire dialect. The words yes sir may be pro- 
nounced correctly, that is, according to the laws of English prosody, and 
may, nevertheless, be uttered with the local cadence or ' native accent ' of 
Somersetshire. 



u 

GRAMMAR. 

IRREGULAR VERBS. 

It was stated in the first lesson, that certain verbs do not 
obey the general rule ; to this class belong ( to have ' ^nd 
' to be/ which assume the following form : 

Conjugation of the ir?*egular verb ' TO HAVE.' 
infinitive mood, to have. 

INDICATIVE MOOD. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 



First person 


I have. First person 


we have. 


Second person 
Third person 


thou hast. Second person 
he has. Third person 
Past Tense. 


you have, 
they have. 


First person 
Second person 
Third person 


I had. First person 
thou hadst. Second person 
he had. Third person 
IMPERATIVE MOOD, have. 


we hav^. 
you hav^l 
they hav^. 


participles. Present having. 


Past hac 



Conjugation of the irregular verb ' TO BE.' 

INFINITIVE MOOD, to be. 
INDICATIVE MOOD. 

Present Tense. 
Singular. Plural. 



First person 
Second person 
Third person 


I am. First person 
thou art. Second person 
he is. Third person 
Past Tense. 


we are. 
you are. 
they are. 


First person 


I was. First person 


we were. 


Second person 


thou wast. Second person 


you were. 


Third person 


he was. Third person 

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.* 

Present Tense. 


they were. 


Singular. Plural. 
First person if I be. First person if we be. 


Second person 
Third person 


if thou be. Second person 
if he be. Third person 
Past Tense. 


if you be. 
if they be. 


First person 
Second person 
Third person 


if I were. First person 
if thou were. Second person 
if he were. Third person 

IMPERATIVE MOOD, be. 


if we were, 
if you were, 
if they were. 


participles. Present being. Past been. 



* The forms of the Subjunctive are used as Indicatives by the Poets ; 
with this difference, that the second persons singular are written thou beest 
or be'st and thou werj. 



GRAMMAR. 



25 



The other irregular verbs only deviate from the general 
rules in the formation of the past tense or past participle, or 
in both. We have seen that the past tense and past participle 
are formed by adding d or ed to the infinitive. The following 
is § list of all the verbs that are irregular in this respect, 
together with their anomalous forms. This list committed 
to memory, all that is requisite to be known relative to the 
modification of the variable words will have been acquired. 

It may be as well to observe, in relation to the irregular 
verbs, that errors in the application of their forms are very 
common amongst the vulgar; the past tense, for example, is 
often used instead of the past participle; as, f the window is 
broke? for ' the window is broken' ( the bread is rose,' for ' the 
bread is risen.' Sometimes the regular forms are used instead 
of the irregular, as ' I knowed him,' for 1 1 knew him,' ' it 
was throwed,' for ( it was thrown,'" inaccuracies of this de- 
scription are inconsistent with any degree of pretension to an 
acquaintance with English Grammar. 

List of the Irregular Verbs. 

The past tenses and past participles in italics are used in 
the regular as well as the irregular forms; the verb to bend, 
for example, may either have the past tense, I bent or / 
bended, both forms being in common use. 



Infinitive. 
to abide 
to arise 
to awake 

to bear (bring fortb) 
to bear (to carry) 
to beat 
to beget 
to begin 
to bend 
to bereave 
to beseech 
to bid 
to bind 
to bite 
to bleed 
to blow 
to break 
to breed 
to bring 
to build 
to burst 
to buy 



Past Tense. 
I abode 
I arose 
I awoke 
I bare 
I bore 
I beat 
I begot 
I began 
/ bent 
I bereft 
I besought 
I bade or bid 
I bound 
I bit 
I bled 
I blew 
I broke 
I bred 
I brought 
I built 
J burst 
I bought 



Past Participle. 
abode, 
arose, 
awaked, 
born, 
borne, 
beaten, 
begotten, 
begun. 
bent, 
bereft, 
besought. 
bidden, 
bound, 
bitten, 
bled, 
blown, 
broken, 
bred, 
brought, 
built, 
burst, 
bought. 



Wj 


GRAMMAR. 




to cast 


I cast 


cast. 


to catch 


I caught 


caught. 


to chide 


I chid 


chidden. 


to choose 


I chose 


chosen. 


to cleave (split) 


I clove or cleft 


cloven. f 
cleaved. 


to cleave (adhere) 


/ clave 


to cling 


I clung 


clung. 


to clothe 


/ clad 


clad. 


to come 


I came 


come. 


to cost 


I cost 


cost. 


to crow 


/ crew 


crowed. 


to creep 


I crept 


crept. 


to cut 


I cut 


cut. 


to dare (risk)* 


I durst 


dared. 


to deal 


/ dealt 


dealt. 


to dig 


I dug 


dug. 


to do 


I did 


done. 


to draw 


I drew 


drawn. 


to dream 


/ dreamt 


dreamt. 


to drive 


I drove 


driven. 


to drink 


I drank 


drunk. 


to dwefl 


/ dwelt 


dwelt. 


to eat 


1 ate 


eaten. 


to fall 


I fell 


fallen. 


to feed 


I fed 


fed. 


to feel 


I felt 


felt. 


to fight 


I fought 


fought. 


to find 


1 found 


found. 


to flee 


I fled 


fled. 


to fling 


I flung 


flung. 


to fly 


I flew 


flown. 


to forget 


I forgot 


forgotten. 


to forsake 


I forsook 


forsaken. 


to freeze 


I froze 


frozen. 


to get 


I got 


got. 


to gild 


I gilt 


gilt. 


to gird 


I girt 


girt. 


to give 


I gave 


given. 


to go 


I went 


gone. 


to grave 


1 graved 


graven. 


to grind 


I ground 


ground. 


to grow 


I grew 


grown. 


to hang-)* 


/ hung 


hung. 


to hear 


I heard 


heard. 


to hew 


I hewed 


hewn. 


to hide 


I hid 


hidden. 



* To dare in the sense of challenge is always regular, as 'I dared him,' 
he is dared.' 
f When this verb signifies strangulation the regular form is always used. 



GRAMMAR. 



27 



to hit 

to hold 

to hurt 

to keep 

to knit 

to kneel 

to know 

to lade or load 

to lay 

to lead 

to leave 

to lend 

to let 

to lie (down) 

to light 
to lose 
to make 

to meet 

to mow 

to pay 

to pen (enclose) 

to put 

to read 

to rend 

to rid 

to ride 

to ring 

to rise 

to rive 

to run 

to saw 

to say 

to see 

to seek 

to sell 

to send 

to set 

to shake 

to shape 

to shave 

to shear 

to shed 

to shine 

to show 

to shoe 

to shoot 

to shrink 
to shred 
to shrive 
to shut 



1 hit 

1 held 

I hurt 

1 kept 

/ hut 

I knelt 

I knew 

/ laded 

1 laid 

I led 

I left 

I lent 

I let 

I lay 

/ lit 

I lost 

I made 

I met 

I mowed 

I paid 

I pent 

I put 

I read 
I rent 
I rid 
I rode 
I rang 
I rose 
I rived 
I ran 
I sawed 
I said 
I saw 
I sought 
Isold 
I sent 
I set 
J shook 
I shaped 
I shaved 
/ shore 
I shed 
it shone 
I showed 
I shod 
I shot 
I shrank 
I shred 
/ shrove 
I shut 



hit. 

held. 

hurt. 

kept. 

knit. 

knelt. 

known. 

laden. 

laid. 

led. 

left. 

lent. 

let. 

lain. 

lit. 

lost. 

made. 

met. 

mown. 

paid. 

pent. 

put. 

read. 

rentr 

rid. 

ridden. 

rung. 

risen. 

riven. 

run. 

sawn, 

said. 

seen. 

sought. 

sold. 

sent. 

set. 

shaken. 

shapen. 

shaven. 

shorn. 

shed. 

shone. 

shown. 

shod. 

shot. 

shrunk. 

shred. 

shriven. 

shut. 



28 



GRAMMAR. 



to sing 
to sink 
to sit 
to slay- 
to sleep 
to slide 
to sling 
to slink 
to slit 
to smite 
to sow 
to speak 
to speed 
to spend 
to spill 
to spin 
to spit 
to split 
to spread 
to spring 
to stand 
to steal 
to stick 
to sting 
to stink 
to stride 
to strike 
to string 
to strive 
to strew 
to strow 
to swear 
to sweat 
to swell 
to swim 
to swing 
to take 
to teach 
to tear 
to tell 
to think 
to thrive 
to throw 
to thrust 
to tread 
to wax 
to wear 
to weave 
to weep 
to win 



I sang 
I sank 
I sat 
I slew 
I slept 
I slid 
I slung 
I slunk 
I slit 
I smote 
I sowed 
I spoke 
I sped 
I spent 
I spilt 
I span 

I spit or spat 
/ split 
I spread 
I sprang 
I stood 
I stole 
I stuck 
I stung 
I stank 
/ strode 
I struck 
I strung 
I strove 
I strewed 
I strowed 
I swore 
/ sweat 
I swelled 
I swam 
I swung 
I took 
I taught 
I tore 
I told 
I thought 
I throve 
I threw 
I thrust 
I trod 
I waxed 
I wore 
/ wove 
I wept 
I won 



sung. 

sunk. 

sat. 

slain. 

slept. 

slid den. 

slung. 

slunk. 

slit. 

smitten. 

sown. 

spoken. 

sped. 

spent. 

spilt. 

spun. 

spit or spitten. 

split. 

spread. 

sprung. 

stood. 

stolen. 

stuck. 

stung. 

stunk. 

stridden. 

struck or stricken. 

strung. 

striven. 

strewn. 

strown. 

sworn. 

sweat. 

swollen. 

swum. 

swung. 

taken. 

taught. 

torn. 

told. 

thought. 

thriven. 

thrown. 

thrust. 

trodden. 

waxen. 

worn. 

woven. 

wept. 

won. 



GRAMMAR. 29 

to wind I wound wound, 

to work / wrought wrought. 

to wring I wrung wrung, 

to write I wrote written. 

Defective Verbs. 

The following verbs have only the present tense, or the 
present and past tenses, they do not take s in forming the 
third person singular; and are chiefly used as auxiliaries. 
Present Tense. Past Tense. 

I can I could 

I may I might 

I must 
I ought 

I shall I should 

I will I would 

In order to transfer the list of irregular verbs to the memory, 
it would be advisable for the learner to write the whole of 
them two or three times over, not however in alphabetical 
order, but arranged in classes; putting those together, for 
example, which form their past tense and past participle in 
ought y thus, 



to bring 


I brought 


brought. 


to buy 


I bought 


bought. 


to think 


1 thought 


thought, 



all those that have the past tense and past participle the same 
as the infinitive, thus, 

to burst I burst burst. 

to thrust I thrust thrust. 

to cut I cut cut. 

and so with the others, grouping them according to their 
inflection. It must be borne in mind that the list given above 
only includes simple verbs, when a particle is added, the 
compound follows the conjugation of the root; the verbs 
' to become' and ' to overcome' are conjugated precisely in the 
same manner as the root e to come/ thus — 

to oecome I oecame become, 

to overcome I overcame overcome. 

and so in the case of the compound verbs ' to understand,' 
' to withstand,* ' to behold/ ' to tmhold/ ' to overhold,' i to 
withhold,' the affix in no way affecting the conjugation of the 
verb. There are one or two exceptions to this rule; the verb 
'to beget,' has the past participle ( begotten ;' such exceptive 
compounds are given in the list as primitives. 



oi) SYNTHESIS. 

The past tenses of such regular verbs as / burned, I fixed, 
I checked, I learned, I meaned, I snatched, I spelled, I sweeped, 
are usually pronounced as if written, I burnt, I checkt, Ifixt, 
I learnt, I meant, I snatcht, I spelt, some grammarians write 
these words as they are pronounced, thus advocating an 
extension of the list of irregular verbs: in these and other 
instances, however, common consent and general usage favours 
the regular orthography. 

On the other hand, Cobbett urges that a large number of 
the irregular verbs should be expunged from the list; he 
contends that such forms as blown, grown, thrown, should under 
all circumstances be written blowed, growed, throwed; but 
though such a word as ' blowed' may occasionally greet the 
■ear, it very rarely offends the eye. 

SYNTHESIS- 

The following are some further examples for the learner's 
practice in writing; and, as in the case of the former exercise, 
an altered version will be given next lesson. 

[Employ am, is, was, were, with a present participle, in the 
following sentences.] 

1. Do I still dream? or have I in truth destroyed my com- 
panions ? exclaimed the traveller who poisoned the food. 

2. The traveller who procured the food prepares the repast. 

3. Where do the travellers go? 

4. The three travellers perish with hunger. 

5. A treasure lay in their way. 

6. When they found the treasure, what did the travellers ? 
[Employ, in the following, am, is, ivas, and were, with a 

past participle.] 

7. My companions call me. 

8. Thy companions want thee. 

9. The three travellers find a treasure. 

10. The travellers desire materials for a repast. 

11. The traveller who went away poisoned the food. 

12. A certain philosopher saw the three travellers. 

[In the following examples turn was and were into has been 
or have been, altering the adverbial sentence to correspond 
with the modification of time. ( Was and were imply acts in 
operation at some past time ; have and has been acts repeated 
within some period of present time.)] 

13. A treasure was found by certain travellers a few years ago. 

14. A repast was prepared when the travellers arrived. 

15. Materials for a repast were procured at the request of the 
travellers. 

16. When the treasure was found one of the travellers was sent 
in quest of provisions. 



SYNTHESIS. 31 

17. Provisions were prepared for the travellers at the time stated. 

18. The viands were poisoned at the time they were bought. 

19. It was the practice of Eastern travellers, last century, to carry 
provisions with them. 

20. It was customary, throughout the past century, to bury 
treasure for safety. 

21. A large amount of treasure was buried during the late dis- 
turbance. 

22. The treasure, withdrawn from circulation, was concealed 
during the outbreak. 

23. The treasure was buried many years ago. 

24. The treasure was discovered a few years ago. 

[Convert have been and has been into had been, making the 
•corresponding alterations. (Has and have been refer to acts in 
operation or repeated within some period of present time ; had 
been refers to acts repeated or in operation at the period of 
some other event.)] 

25. The three travellers have been fasting many hours, and have 
just obtained materials for a repast. 

26. The travellers have been walking some hours, but have not 
yet reached their destination. 

27- We have just seen the travellers ; they have been looking for 
a treasure all the morning. 

28. The treasure has been concealed since the arrival of the 
travellers. 

29. The treasure has been found since the departure of the 
travellers. 

30. The meat has been poisoned and administered to the travellers. 

[Substitute a form of the verb to be with a past participle, 
for the verbs in the following sentences]. 

31. Can we obtain materials for a repast here? 

32. Where can we- obtain materials for a repast? 

33. They say that the travellers are here. 

34. What can we do? 

35. You must prosecute the study of a language with diligence. 

36. You ought to examine every rule with extreme attention. 

[Abridge sentences in italics.] 

37- Can we obtain materials for a repast in this place P 

38. In what place did the travellers find a treasure ? 

39. Riches in general foster ambition. 

40. This axiom has been repeated a great many times. 

41. The same thing occurs every day in the week- 

42. Might not such a course be pursued with advantage. 
[Convert adjectives into adverbs.] 

43. The brilliant sun shone. 

44. His actions were for the most part good. 

45. The speaker took a correct view of the subject. 



32 SYNTHESIS. 

46. The movements of the troops from one point of the field to 
the other were rapid. 

47. Properly directed ambition is productive of good. 

48. Unequally distributed wealth is productive of evil. 

[Abridge the following sentences, omitting relative.] 

49. Three travellers who were on a journey found a treasure. 

50. The treasure which the travellers found belongs to a certain 
philosopher. 

51. Where is the casket that contains the treasure? 

52. Pope, who was not content to satisfy, desired to excel. 

53. He dared the judgment of his reader, from whom expecting 
no indulgence, he showed none to himself. 

54. His diligence, which was extreme, commands our admiration. 

[Alter construction, omitting pronoun it.] 

55. It was the fate of the travellers to perish with hunger. 

56. It was the desire of riches that brought about the destruction 
of the travellers. 

57. It is natural for mankind to desire riches, but avarice is an 
offspring of folly. 

58. It is threatening weather. 

59. It is not likely to cease raining for some time. 

60. It were but to perplex the learner to cite a larger number of 
examples. 

[Express the following without the conjunction if.] 

61. If the travellers had not found a treasure they might have 
lived. 

62. The travellers would not have perished if they had not 
desired riches. 

63. If this weather continues we shall have rain. 

64. Darkly red, through the profound gloom of their banks, the 
burning rivers flowed slowly on, as if towards the devoted city. 

65. He would have been an active friend, a useful citizen, in 
short, an excellent man, if he had not taken it into his head to be 
a philosopher. 

66. Well, Sallust, with all your faults you are the best profligate 
I have ever met; and, verily, if I were in danger of life, you are 
the only man in all Italy who would stretch out a finger to save me. 



THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



LESSON THIRD. 



READING. 



1 . Am I still dreaming ? Or have I in truth destroyed my 
companions? exclaimed the traveller who poisoned the food. 

2. The traveller who procured the food is preparing the repast. 

3. Where are the travellers going ? 4. The three travellers 
are perishing with hunger. 5. A treasure was lying in their 
way. 6. What were the travellers doing when they found the 
treasure? 7. I am called by my companions. 8. Thou art 
wanted by thy companions. 9. A treasure is found by the 
three travellers. 10. Materials for a repast are desired by the 
travellers. 1 1 . The food was poisoned by the traveller who went 
away. 12. The three travellers were seen by a certain philosopher. 
13. A treasure has been found by certain travellers within 
the last few years. 14. A repast has been prepared, but the 
travellers have not yet arrived. 15. Materials for a repast have 
been procured at the request of the travellers. 16. Since the 
treasure was found, one of the travellers has been sent in quest 
of provisions. 17. Provisions have been prepared for the 
travellers some time. 18. The viands have been poisoned 
since they were bought. 19. It has been the practice of 
Eastern travellers in all ages to carry provisions with them. 
20. It has been the practice for many centuries to bury 
treasure for safety. 21. A large amount of treasure has been 
buried during disturbances. 22. The treasure withdrawn from 
circulation during the tumult has been concealed. 23. The 
treasure has been buried many years. 24. The treasure has 
been discovered within the last few years. 25. The three 
travellers had been fasting many hours when they obtained 
materials for a repast. 26. The travellers had been walking 
some hours when they reached their destination. 21. The 
travellers had been looking for the treasure all the morning 

D 



34 READING. 

when we saw them. 28. The treasure had been concealed 
before the arrival of the travellers. 29. The treasure had been 
found before the departure of the travellers. 30. The meat 
had been poisoned when administered to the travellers. 
31. Can materials for a repast be obtained here? S2. Where 
can materials for a repast be obtained? S3. It is said that 
the travellers are here. 34. What is to be done? 35. The 
study of a language must be prosecuted with diligence. 36. 
Every rule ought to be examined with extreme attention. 37. 
Can we obtain materials for a repast here ? 38. Where did the 
travellers find a treasure? 39. Riches often foster ambition. 
40. This axiom has been frequently repeated. 41. The same 
thing daily occurs. 42. Might not such a course be advan- 
tageously pursued? 43. The sun shone brilliantly. 44. He 
acted in general well. 45. The speaker viewed the subject 
correctly. 46. The troops moved rapidly from one point of 
the field to another. 47. Ambition, if properly directed, 
produces good. 48. Wealth, unequally distributed, is pro- 
ductive of evil, 49. Three travellers on a journey found a 
treasure. 50. The treasure found by the travellers belongs 
to a certain philosopher. 51. Where is the casket containing 
the treasure? 52. Pope, desirous to excel, was not content 
to satisfy. 53. He dared the judgment of his reader; expect- 
ing no indulgence, he showed none to himself. 54. His 
extreme diligence commands our admiration. 55. To perish 
with hunger was the fate of the three travellers. 56. The 
desire of riches brought about the destruction of the travellers. 
57. The desire of riches is natural to man, but avarice 
is an offspring of folly. 58. The weather is threatening. 
59. The rain is not likely to cease for some time. 60. To 
cite a larger number of examples were but to perplex the 
learner. 61. Had the travellers not found a treasure they 
might have lived. 62. Had the travellers not desired 
riches, they would not have perished. 63. Should this 
weather continue we shall soon have rain. 64. Darkly red, 
through the profound gloom of their banks, the burning rivers 
flowed slowly on, as towards the devoted city. 65. He would 
have been an active friend, a useful citizen, in short, an ex- 
cellent man, had he not taken it into his head to be a 
philosopher. 66. Well, Sallust, with all your faults, you are 
the best profligate I have ever met; and verily, were I in 
danger of life, you are the only man in all Italy, who would 
stretch out a finger to save me. 



35 

TEXT. 

The numbers refer to the list of vowel sounds given in the 
first lesson. 

1 4 4 2 4 15 14 13 6 1 13 6 

In thE mEAn-tlme thE twO Oth-Er trA-vEl-lErs hAd 

11 4 914 13 426 7 865 

cOn-cEIv-ed A sI-ml-lAr dE-sIgn A-gAInst thEIr Ab-sEnt 

11 , 6 14 5 4 4 13 7 6 5 1 

cOm-pAn-ion (yUn); whEn hE rE-tUrn-ed, thEY As-sAs-sI- 

7 5 1 14 4 1 6 13 13 4 3 

nA-tEd him; bUt, EAt-Ing Af-tEr-wArds thE pOI-son-ed 

15 7 11 2 2 2 

fOOd, thEY bOth dIEd like-wise. 

The following is a repetition of the foregoing with the 
rhetorical inflections, explained in the first lesson. 

In^the^ meantime the^two^other^travellers^had 
conceived ^a^ similar w design v _^ against w their ^ absent^, 
companion j when^he^returned they^ assassinated^, 
him | but w eating w afterwards w the w p6isoned w f6od | they 
^both^died^likewise. 

PRONUNCIATION. 

SYLLABICATION. 

Syllabication , or the art of dividing words into syllables, 
may at first sight appear a matter of minor importance; but, as 
our language is constituted, no set of rules for its pronunciation 
can be framed without some fixed principle for the division 
of the words be first recognised. The sound of a letter may 
often be determined by position; it is a uniform law of the 
language that a vowel terminating an accented syllable has its 
name or open sound, as in na-ture, fi'-nal, no -hie; whilst a 
vowel, under like circumstances, if followed in the same syl- 
lable by a consonant, has one or other of its irregular or shut 
sounds, as in nat'-u-ral,Jiri-ish, noth'-ing; but it will be observed 
that this law is based upon an implied division of the words, 
with which it is requisite the learner should be acquainted. 

A syllable may contain a single vowel, as in might; a digraph, 
as in h*EAsure; or a trigraph, as in bxAvty; either alone or in 
combination with such consonants as will not check a single 
impulse of the voice. The word band is a single syllable: the 
breath accompanying the utterance of b pronounces the vowel; 
the sound, though slightly modified at n } is only checked at d; 
in the word bandit, a fresh breathing at d pronounces the vowel 
i, and the vocal impulse is again arrested at t; should another 
vowel follow t, as in banditti, the same process being repeated, 



80 PRONUNCIATION. 

a word of three syllables is produced. When two consonants, 
which from their similarity of sound, or the impossibility of 
pronouncing them by a single impulse of the voice, occur in 
the middle of a word, they naturally separate and belong to 
different syllables, as tt in ban-dit-ti, pp in ap-ple, nd in thun- 
der; but, when only one consonant or two which readily co- 
alesce, as ph, th, br, sp, occur between two vowels, a difficulty 
arises; for there is nothing in the nature of the consonants in 
the middle of such words as opponent, polyphony, decorum, to 
determine whether they should begin or end the syllable. 

The common rule for syllabication is, "that a consonant 
between two vowels goes to the latter, and that two consonants 
coming together should be separated;" this rule requires us to 
divide such words as notice and novice in precisely the same 
way; but a correct ear would be offended if the first syllables 
of notice and novice were pronounced alike, consequently, if 
notice be correctly divided into no'-tice, novice must be divided 
into nov'-ice, even had we no other object in view than merely 
to show that a difference exists between the opening syllables 
of the two words; and, in order to render syllabication an index 
to the sounds, the manner of exhibiting the difference between 
the first syllables of notice and novice must be preserved in 
forming the syllables of every other word in the language; that 
is to say, syllabication, regarded as an element of prosody, 
consists in'dividing words exactly as they are pronounced, without 
regard' to etymology, usage in separating consonants, or any 
other accident that operates in any other direction. The 
following rules will enable the learner to determine the 
place of a single consonant or of two consonants that readily 
coalesce, agreeably to this principle of syllabication. 

GENERAL RULES. 
1. In words of two syllables, the consonant or consonants 
begin the second, as va'-ry, despatch', e-late'. 1 

1 The following words, exceptions to this rule, will have to be committed 
to memory: an'-ise, prom'-ise, bod'-ice, chat-ice, mal'-ice, nov'-ice, pum-ice, 
pal' -ace, ref'-use (noun), rej'-vge, bisli-op, sir-up, sub'-urb, ech'-o, dram'-a, 
dam-ask, sec'-ond, fec'-vnd, fac'-und, ped'-ant, clem'-ent, bal'-ance, pen'-ance, 
val'-ance, prov'-ince, col'-icnvi, sol'-emn, preb'-end, trav'-erse, schol'-ar, vic'-ar, 
sol'-ace, pref'-ace, mor'-al, cor'-al, dec'-ade, mon-ade, mon'-ad, soph' -ism, 
ven'-om, at'-om, al'-um, min'-um, trib'-une, trib'-ute, stal'-ute, min'-ute (noun), 
val'-ue, stat'-ue, statf-ure, sto?n-ach, mon'-arch, ep'-och, met'-al, med'-al, 
prcs'-ent, tal'-ent, prod'-uct, traj'-ect, proj'-ect (noun), reX-ict, rap iue, 
hori-ey, mori-ey, ivid'-ow, shad'-ow, neph'-ew, sin'-ew, glob'-tde, gran'-ule, 
gam'-ut, jig'-ot, spig'-ot, piv'-ot, fag'-ot, big'-ot, wiz'-ard, viz'-ard, Uz'-ard, 
haz'-ard, cav'-ern, tao'-ern, lin'-en, slov'-en, sev'-en, ov'-en, wom'~an, for'-est, 
mod'-est, pal'-ate, sen'- ale, leg-ate, frig -ate, pres'-age (noun), dam' -age, 
vis-age, bor'-age, sav'-age, man-age, hom'-age, im'-age, ad'-agc, spiti-ach, 



PRONUNCIATION. 37 

2. In words of three syllables, with the accent on the 
penult, the consonants generally go to the succeeding vowel, as 
de-pd-nent, ho-ri'-zon, ad-he -sive. 2 

3. In words of three or more syllables, with the accent 
higher than the penult, the consonants both before and after the 
vowel generally belong to the accented syllable, as red'-o-lent, e-vap- 
o-rate, mo-noj -a-my , ev'-an-gel-i-cal. 3 

4. In words of more than three syllables, a secondary 
accent falls upon one or more of the vowels, which has the same 
effect as the primary in allocating the consonant ; thus, nom'-i-na'-tor, 
dem'-on-stra'-tion, ig"-no-ra'-mus, icti-thy-oph"-a-gy, id"-i-op-ath-y, 
iii'-di-vis -i-bit -i-ty . 

When the secondary accent falls on the penult vowel of words 
ending in ony, ary, ory, ery, and like terminations, the consonant 
preceding y belongs to the accented syllable, as mai-ri-mon-y, 
p ur'-ga-tor'-y, val'-e-ta'-de- nar"-y . 

SUBSIDIARY RULES. 

It may be observed generally that, though the letters s, c, 
and t may acquire the sound of sh from being followed by a 
vowel, still these letters are not necessarily associated with the 
vowel that follows in the division of the word, as treas'-ure, 
de-lic '-ions , re-dif-ion. 

1. A consonant preceded by any vowel except t, and followed by 
ei, ia, ie, io, iu, eou, iou, belongs to the unaccented syllable, as 
a -lien-ate, a'-the-ist, sa'-li-ate* 

But when preceded by i, the consonant goes to the accented 
syllable, as vit'-i-ate, bil'-i-ous, ex-hi-bit'-ion. 

2. When a particle, such as re, pre, pro, is prefixed to an English 
word, it forms a single syllable, as re-petition (meaning to petition 

lep'-er, coc'-er, quid-er, ev'-er, nev'-er, clev'-er, sev'-er, rio'-er, prop'-er, 
hon'-our, col'-our, vig'-dr, rig -or, vat -or, tew or, clam -or, man -or, Jiab'-ile, 
deb' -lie, grac'-ile, ag'-ile, frag -He, ver'-y, man'-y, ari-^y, id'-y, cit'-y, stud'-y, 
pit'-y, lev'-y, bev'-y, mel'-on, bar'-on, tal'-on, her -on, fel'-on, can-on, flag'-on, 
dray -on, lem'-on, proph'-et, plan'-et, com'-et, cov'-et, ten'-et, clar'-et, gan'-ef, 
clos'-et, civ'-et, triv'-et, riv'-et, rtb'-el (noun), shek'-el, chis'-el, grav'-el, lev -el, 
nov'-el, smv'-el, driv'-el, shov'-el, hov'-el, rev -el, mod -el, cam -el, chap -el; to 
these have to be added words falling under subsidiary Rule 6. 

2 Except de-lw-er, de-jlex'-ure, im-ag'-ine, in-cent'-ive, as also words 
falling under subsidiary Rules 1 and 6. The learner will bear in mind that 
the general rules relate only to the place of a consonant between two single 
vowels : when two vowels precede or follow the consonant, as in memorial, 
inaugurate, eidogiwn, the syllabication is determined, when doubtful, by one 
or other of the subsidiary rules. 

3 Except e'-go-tist, e'-ve-ning, e'-ris-ti-cal, de'-cen-cy, de-ci'-so-ry, in-vi'- 
ta-tor-y, o'-der-ous, i-ci-cle, i'-cho-rous, a-me'-na-ble, ca'-pa-ble, fa'-tal-hm, 
mi'-cro-.scopc, pd-pa-cy, pla'-ca-ble, ve'-he-ment ; and likewise words in which 
the accent falls on u, as u'-vu-la, lu'-cu-lent, im-pu-ni-ty, as well as any words 
falling under the subsidiary rules. 

4 Except nat'-ion-al, rat'-ion-al, prec'-ious, spec-ial, dis-cret'-ion, hat-tal'-'wn. 



38 PRONUNCIATION. 

again). But under other circumstances these particles obey the 
general rule, as rep'-e-tif-ion, pref -er-a-ble, prof -a-na -Hon. 

3. When r follows unaccented e it belongs to the same syllable, 
as lit'-er-al, gen-er-al, mis-er-y. 

4. Th generally belongs to the accented syllable, as gath'-er, 
meth'-od, my-thot-o-gy. 1 

5. The common terminations ment, less, ness,ful, able, ly, er, ing, 
y, added to words, do not affect the original syllabication, as abate- 
ment, re-gard'-less, re'-cent-ness, du-ti-ful, en-vi-able, pd-tent-ly, 
im-port'-er, cd-per-ing, grd-cer-y. 2 

When such terminations beginning with a vowel are added to a 
word ending in e mute, the e is dropped in accordance with the rules 
of orthography, but the syllable so elided continues under the same 
conditions, as in rang{e)er, tast(e)ing, rat(e)able ; this gives rise 
to an anomaly between the vowel sounds of such words as ranked 
and ranged, taster and faster, batable and ratable. 

6. A consonant between an accented vowel and the terminations 
ie, ish, id, in, il, it, and ite, belongs to the accented syllable, as 
fa-nat'-ic, de-mol'-ish, rap-id, rob'-in, civ'-il, de-crep-it, gran'-ite. 

VOWELS. 

In separating vowels the following rules will have to be 
observed : — 

1. Oe and ae united thus, ce, ce, represent simple sounds, as in 
cec'-u-men-ics, Cce'-sar. 

But when written separately they belong to distinct syllables, as 
po'-et, or-tho-e-py, a-e'-ri-al. 

2. AC, ay, au, aw, eau, ee, ey, eu, ew, ieu, iew, oa, oi, oo, ou, vy, 
generally belong to the same syllable, as in de-tail', de-lay, Haw'-ick, 
bu'-reau, suc-ceed'. 3 

3. Ie, ei, and ea generally belong to the same syllable, as in grief, 
height, beat. 4 

But in the common terminations, iety, ient, ience, eity, ean, eate, 
eal, which occur chiefly in Greek or Latin derivatives, each letter 
belongs to a distinct syllable, as in or'-i-ent, sci'-ence, de-i-ty, ce-ru- 
le-an, per'-me-ate, cor-pd-re-al. 

4. Ao, eo, ia, io, iu, ua, ue, ui, uo, generally separate into distinct 
syllables, as in cha'-os, ne-ol'-o-gy, li'-a-ble, vi'-o-late, tri'-umph, 
fluc'-tu-ate, fu'-el, flu -id, flu -or. 

1 Except farther, rd-iher, pd-thos. 

2 Except comparatives and superlatives of the adjectives, long, strong, 
young; which make lon'-ger, stron'-ger, youn'-ger ; lon'-gest, stron'-gest, 
youn'-gest. 

3 Except la-i-ty, la'-i-cal, vol-ta'-ic, al'-ge-brd'-ic, and similar words ; 
in'-cho-ate, co-ag'-u-late, co-a-lesce, co-a-cer'-vate, ac'-ro-a-mat"-i-cal, 
zo-ol'-o-gy, zo-ot'-o-my, and other words beginning with zoo. 

4 Except di'-et, qui'-et, cour'-i-er, re'-al, i-de'-a, a'-re-a, the'-a-tre, fe -al-ty, 
bor'-e-as, d-the-ist, ge'-ne-al"-o-gy, be-at'-ify ; in the following, i having the 
power of y begins the syllable, al'-ien, braz'-ier, soM-ier, spari-iel, Dan'-iel, 
pann'-ier, court'-ier. 



ANALYSIS. 39 

In our future remarks, under the head Pronunciation, 
when the vowel of a particular syllable is stated to have a 
certain sound, the learner will have to bear in mind that the 
foregoing principles of syllabication are implied. 

ANALYSIS. 

Under this head, in the first lesson, the grammatical 
distinctions of the words individually were pointed out : the 
various combinations or groups of words entering into the 
expression of an entire idea are likewise distinguished in a 
similar manner. 

I. A complete thought, or a series of complete thoughts 
intimately connected, is termed a Sentence. 

1. 'Three travellers found a treasure,' is a simple sentence, 
expressing a complete sense. ' Three travellers, who were perish- 
ing with hunger, found a treasure on their way,' likewise involves 
the expression of a complete idea, but is a complex sentence, con- 
taining three distinct Clauses or Members. 

2. An incomplete enunciation, as ' Three travellers who,' is not 
a sentence. 

3. An expression complete in itself, but employed parenthetically, 
as 'by and by/ 'talking of that,' is termed a Phrase. 

4. Such expressions, as ' To make a piece of work,' ' His genius 
does not run that way/ ' It is not worth your while/ the construc- 
tion of which will not admit of direct translation into other lan- 
guages, are termed Idioms. 

5. When one Word or clause breaks off abruptly from .another 
word or clause, or when there is no immediate connection between 
two members of a sentence, the construction is said to be in appo- 
sition. It is I, Hamlet the Dane. 

The travellers rested at Thebes, a city of Egypt. 
This construction may be substituted for a sentence of two 
members by omitting a verb and conjunction. 

Men of shallow mind (are) proud of intolerance, (and) regard 

other tenets as impure. 
Charity (is) the chief characteristic of a liberal mind (and) 
combines almost every good quality. 

6. When a participle present alone or in combination with another 
word stands in opposition to the rest of the sentence, it is said to 
be Absolute. 

Having departed, ^| 

r» • /he said to himself. 

On going, 

Going, J 

This construction may likewise be substituted for a sentence 
of two members by altering the verb and omitting the con- 
junction. 



40 ANALYSIS. 

They conceived a design and carried it out. Conceiving a design, 

they carried it out. 
They were hungry and sent for provisions. Being hungry, they 

sent for provisions. 

A participle present, when employed in this way, involves 
an assertion, 'Going, or going along, he said to himself,' is 
equivalent to ( As he went,' or i When he was going along, he 
said.' 

II. The word or clause of a sentence, about which anything 
is affirmed, is termed the Subject or Nominative. 

1. The subject is generally a substantive expressed or understood, 
as ' Three travellers found a treasure; but may consist of an entire 
clause, as To make a piece of work about such a trifle is reprehen- 
sible. 

III. A word or clause affirming anything, is termed the 

PREDICATE. 

1. The predicate must either be a verb, or a word or clause con- 
nected with the subject by some form of the verb to be, which when 
used in this way is termed the copula or link. 

The travellers perish. 
The travellers are hunqry. 
His Lordship is out of order. 

2. The verbs, to look, to seem, to feel, to remain, and some others, 
are considered, like the verb to be, merely as links connecting the 
subject and predicate. 

He feels ill. He looks warm. They remained masters of the treasure. 

3. The copula may be omitted by putting a clause of the sentence 
in apposition. 

Conversation (is) another mode of improving the mind. 
The good Samaritan (is) a subject of universal praise. 
Each religious sect imagines itself (to be) in the right path. 

IV. A word or clause under the government of a subject 
and predicate, is termed the Object. 

1. When the predicate is a transitive verb, the object is generally 
a substantive or pronoun in the objective case. 

They found a treasure. They met him. 

2. When the predicate is a neuter verb or an active verb used 
intransitively, the object is generally under government of a prepo- 
sition. 

The travellers perish with hunger. They spoke to him. 

3. A predicate may have two objects. 

He sent them a turkey. They sent to market for provisions. 

4. In the passive voice of an active verb the subject becomes the 
object under government of a preposition. 



ANALYSIS. 



41 



Three travellers found a treasure. 
A treasure was found by three travellers. 

."). The object may be a subsidiary clause. 

The travellers found 1 that wealth does not constitute 

Every day experience proves) happiness. 

V. A word or clause added to qualify the subject or pre- 
dicate, is termed an Attribute. 

1. The attribute is generally an adjective or adverb, as ' A very 
gay livery ;' but may be an entire clause, as 'A livery of a deep green 
all covered over with gold lace. 

2. The attribute may be rendered by a possessive case. 

Daily experience. Every day experience. 
Every day's experience. The experience of every day. 

3. A predicate with the verb to be may be converted into an 
attribute, and vice versa. 

The window is open. The open window. ■ 

The travellers are hungry. The hungry travellers. 

4. The attribute may be a relative clause. 

The travellers, who are hungry, i.e. the hungry travellers. 
The horse, that is dead, i.e. the dead horse. 

Clauses in apposition may be substituted for this construc- 
tion by omitting the relative and verb to be. 

Reverence every thing (that is) sacred. 
The travellers (who are) preparing a repast. 

VI. A word or clause added to extend the meaning of a 
subject, predicate, and object, is termed an Accessary. 

r on the road. 
Three travellers found a treasure < that lay on the road. 

L lying on the road. 
1. The accessary may be an independent or subsidiary clause. 
The travellers assassinated their companion, arid they remained 
masters of the treasure. 

This last construction may be rendered by the adversative 
particles, though, yet, as; by a participle absolute; by clauses 
in apposition, or by an adverb. 

Though they assassinated their companion, yeV 
As they assassinated their companion, so 
Having assassinated their companion, 
Their companion being assassinated, 
Assassinating their companion, 
Their companion assassinated, 
When they had assassinated their companion, 
After having assassinated their companion, 



they remained 

masters of 
the treasure. 



42 CONSTRUCTION. 

The degree of propriety in the expression or style of a 
writer is determined by subjecting the clauses and members 
of the sentences to this kind of analysis. Conversely, it will 
be observed that a sentence is susceptible of a variety of 
modifications ; that one kind of construction may be readily 
substituted for another ; and, consequently, that a writer or 
speaker may strengthen, condense, or vary his mode of 
expression, without at the same time altering the meaning. 

CONSTRUCTION. 

We have seen, under the head Grammar, that an English 
verb undergoes one or two changes of form, evolving certain 
varieties of signification. The verbs of the ancient and of 
some modern languages possess this property in a much 
greater degree; yet, to judge by the common grammar of 
the .schools, the conjugation of an English verb possesses as 
great a number of forms as any verb of any other language. 
This anomaly arises from the efforts of grammarians to assimi- 
late the formula? of an English verb with that of more complex 
languages; and is effected by supposing such a phrase as 
( I should have been loved ' to constitute a form of the verb 
( to love;' giving it some such designation as f the pluperfect 
tense, conditional mood,' of the verb i to love.' 

By extending the conjugation of an English verb in this 
way, grammarians confound a variety of verbal form with a 
variety of phrase. The learner will therefore have to observe 
the difference between an actual change in the form of a verb 
and a variety of meaning arising from its junction with other 
words; the former belongs to conjugation, the latter constitutes 
a peculiarity in the idiomatic structure of the language, the 
consideration of which properly belongs to construction. 

English verbs are subject to an infinite variety of meaning 
by being associated with other verbs : the most important 
combinations of this kind are constructed by means of the 
verbs to have and to he, which are, in consequence, deno- 
minated Auxiliaries. These two verbs combine with others 
as modifying particles under the following circumstances : — 

The verb to have combines through all its moods and 
tenses with been, the past participle of to be ; thus, — 
I have been, thou hast been, he has been. 

I had been, thou hadst been, he had been. 

The verb to have combines through all its moods and 
tenses with the past participles of other verbs ; thus, — 
I have taught, thou hast taught, he has taught. 

I had taught, thou hadst taught, he had taught. 



CONSTRUCTION. 43 

In forming this combination the learner will have to avoid 
using the past tense instead of the past participle, as, ' I have 
wrote ' for ' I have written;' ' he has fell ' for ' he has fallen ;' 
' I have took the parcels ' for ' I have taken the parcels.' 

The verb to be combines through all its moods and tenses 
with the past participles of other verbs. This combination 
constitutes what is called in the grammars a passive verb, or 
the passive voice of an intransitive verb. 

I am taught, thou art taught, he is taught. 

I was taught, thou wast taught, he was taught. 

It must be observed that all neuter verbs reject this com- 
bination; we cannot say 'he is looked,' 'he is dreamed,' or 
' I am stood.' 

The verb to have in combination with been associates through 
all its moods and tenses with the past participles of other 
verbs. 

I have been taught, thou hast been taught. 

I had been taught, thou hadst been taught. 

Neuter verbs reject this as well as the preceding combina- 
tion: we cannot say 'I have been stood/ 'he has been 
dreamed,' ' I had been looked.' 

The verb to be, as well as to have, in combination with been, 
associate with the present participles of all other verbs. 

I am teaching, thou art teaching, he is teaching. 

I was teaching, thou wast teaching, he was teaching. 

I have been teaching, thou hast been teaching. 

I had been teaching, thou hadst been teaching. 

The present participles of to have and to be combine with 
the past participles of other verbs. 

having taught. being taught. 

Some attention should be exercised in using this combina- 
tion ; it is an error to say ' the bill is being committed* for 
'the bill is committed;' 'the bridge is being built 9 for ' the 
bridge is building/ 'things worth being seen 9 for 'things 
worth seeing.' 

The foregoing combinations constitute what are called the 
compound tenses of an English verb. It will be observed 
that, though the auxiliaries modify the meaning of a verb, 
these modifications are not necessarily forms of the verb itself. 
The learner should write out at length one or two verbs con- 
jointly with the auxiliaries to have and to be in accordance 
with these rules. 



44 CONSTRUCTION. 

The defective verbs combine with the infinitive mood of 
other verbs. 

I will 
I may 

1 can ^ teach. 

I should 
I ought to 

The auxiliary to be in combination with a defective 
associates with the past participles of other verbs. 
I can be 

I could be I , , . 
T , > taught. 

1 may be I ° 

I ought to be J 
Have been, in combination with a defective, likewise asso- 
ciates with the past participles of other verbs. 
I will have been \ 
I would have been 
I shall have been \ taught. 
I should have been 
I ought to have beeu 

The verb do and its past tense did give greater emphasis 
to the infinitives of other verbs. 

I do teach. I did teach. 

Do and did are likewise used as auxiliaries in the construc- 
tion of interrogative and negative sentences. 

Do I teach ? Did I teach ? 

I do not teach. 1 did not teach. 

The negations 'I do not' and 'I did not' are colloquially 
contracted into 'I don't' and 'I didnV; ' he don't' is some- 
times used for 'he does not/ but this contraction involves a 
grammatical error, and is consequently a barbarism. The 
negation 'he can not/ in conversation is very frequently con- 
tracted into ' he can't/ and ' he shall not ' is sometimes heard 
in the form of 'he shan't.' The vulgar transform ' I am not,' 
' thou art not/ ' he, she, or it is not/ into 'I ain't/ ' thou ain't,' 
'he, she, or it ain't/ corruptions of this kind are only used by 
the very illiterate. The learner should generally avoid con- 
tractions, even in cases where they are sanctioned by polite 
usage. 

These combinations constitute the future tense of the 
indicative mood, as well as what are called in the Grammars 
the optative, conditional, and potential moods : an English 
verb not being susceptible of expressing a future time by 
inflection, will and shall are very properly used as auxiliaries ; 
but the necessity for employing the others in this way is not 
so obvious. 



45 

ETYMOLOGY. 

Under this head will have to be considered the derivation of 
English words. It is the practice of grammarians to deduce 
the meaning of an English word, not so much from its general 
acceptation in the vernacular, as from the sense in which the 
same or some similar word is employed in certain older 
languages. The word 'but/ for example, is found to be 
derived from the Saxon verbs e bo tan/ to boot, and ' butan/ 
to be out; the philologist argues that these are the primitive, 
and, consequently, the real meanings of the word ' but.' The 
value of an English word may in some cases be ascertained 
by this means, still the usage of the best English writers 
is a much less hypothetical and infinitely more rational 
authority. 

We have already seen that the word ' sonorous/ being a 
Latin derivative, is, in consequence, accented on the penult, 
though an English speaker would naturally accent the first 
syllable; for a like reason the word ' inquiry ' has i in the 
initial syllable, whilst English analogy rather leans to the 
vowel e. In this way other languages, and more especially 
the Latin and Greek, are allowed to exercise some degree of 
control over English orthography and pronunciation ; but 
though the language is strengthened and enriched by the 
introduction of words from the classic vocabularies, there is 
no reason why these words should continue subject to their 
original rules. The English has sufficient vitality to deter- 
mine its own principles, and a pedantic adherence to classic 
authority only tends to perpetuate anomalies which perplex 
and confuse the learner. The usual practice of two or more 
well-accredited English speakers or writers is, or at least 
ought to be, the proper authority in matters of orthography 
and pronunciation. With regard to derivation as an authority 
in the latter, University-men, generally, give the sound of 
i in e idea ' to the vowel i of the word ' direct/ because this 
i is long in the Latin derivative ; but they likewise, very 
generally, give the same sound to i in such words as ' simul- 
taneous/ although the i is short in the Latin equivalent; thus 
offending both analogy and derivation. 

Keeping in view that derivation is not essential, at least in 
so far as a practical knowledge of the language is concerned, 
we may observe that the etyms or roots of English words 
have been detected in the oldest languages of which any 
record has been preserved to the present time. They have 
been found in the Sanscrit, and other obsolete dialects of 
Eastern Asia: the arrow-headed characters on the tomb of 
Darius, a key to which has been recently discovered, throw 



46 SYNTHESIS. 

some light upon English etymology; and most English words 
may be traced more or less disguised in nearly all the existing 
languages of Europe. 

The primitive language of Britain appears to have been the 
Celtic, which still lingers in some districts of the island; this 
was successively modified by an admixture of the Roman, the 
Runic or Icelandic, the Saxon, and Norman-French ; of these 
modified dialects the Anglo-Saxon may be regarded as the 
immediate progenitor of the classic English of the present 
day. In order to trace a word through all these transitions 
and establish its various ethnological relations some acquaint- 
ance with the early languages and literature of Europe would 
be necessary. The English etymologist must be conversant 
with the sagas of Scandinavia, the Mcesogothic gospels of 
Ulphilus, the chartularies of the Anglo-Saxons, and the 
monkish chronicles of the period immediately succeeding the 
Conquest. This kind of research, considered as an aesthetic 
recreation, has its uses; it opens an extensive field of inquiry, 
calculated to refine the taste; and it clothes every vestige of 
antiquity with interest; but, regarded as an element in the study 
of English, it is practically inferior to the consideration of those 
more living influences — the stage and the press. The learner 
desirous of reading and speaking English correctly will reap 
more advantage from judiciously observing the reading of 
our modern stage, and noting the quotidianal progress of the 
language as mirrored in the newspapers, than in labouring to 
trace the words through a labyrinth of changes to their primi- 
tive signification. 

SYNTHESIS. 

While the French Government were striving in this manner 
{turn words in italics into an attributive qualifying striving) amidst 
the confused chaos of the revolutionary passions to close up the 
wounds and to mitigate the fearful sufferings of the terrible revo- 
lution (omit the words that are not absolutely necessary), negotiations 
of an important character had commenced (employ superlative 
degree), and were advanced already considerably at Vienna (correct 
position of adverbs). It had been originally intended to commence 
the sittings of the Congress of Vienna on the 29th July 1814 
(convert infinitive into a conditional clause introduced by that) ; but 
the visit of the Allied Sovereigns to England, and their returning 
afterwards to their own capitals (use a substantive and adjective for 
words in italics), it was caused necessarily to be adjourned (turn into 
active voice)', and not till the beginning of September was the 
august assembly commenced (resolve this sentence into two clauses, 
beginning the first with it, and the second with that) by the entry of 
the Emperor Alexander and the King of Prussia into the capital 



SYNTHESIS. 47 

of Austria (render possessive by another construction). The King 
of Bavaria, the King of Denmark, the King of Wurtemburg, 
and a host of lesser Princes followed these (begin this sentence with 
predicate, use passive voice, and have only one noun in possessive case) ; 
Lord Castlereagh, and subsequently the Duke of Wellington, 
represented England, and M. Talleyrand represented France, 
and more efficiently than any crowned heads could have done up- 
held the interests of their respective monarchies (use a preposition 
instead of represented). But although the sovereigns and ministers 
appeared to keep up (convert predicate into an adverbial clause and 
object into predicate) very amicable and confidential relations (use 
superlative degree), it was easily seen (turn into adjective and infini- 
tive) that their interest and views clashed (employ an expression 
equivalent to this word) ; and that the removal of common danger 
and the division of common spoil had produced their usual effect 
(add the general result in such circumstances). 

There first arose a preliminary question of precedence as to the 
rank of the different states assembled and their representatives 
(alter construction and omit there) ; but Alexander at once termi- 
nated this (turn into passive voice) by a happy expedient, which 
was, that they should be arranged, and should sign in the alpha- 
betical order of their respective states (omit relative clause). But 
a more serious difficulty soon after occurred as to the states which 
were entitled in their own right as principals to take part in the 
deliberations (express conditionally) ; and the ministers of Russia, 
Prussia, Austria, and Great Britain, suggested at the outset 
(convert into passive) that they in the first instance agree (supply 
auxiliary and insert the verb come) as to the disposal of the 
territories wrested from France and its allies, before entering into 
conferences with France and Spain (use past indicative for parti- 
ciple). This, proposal was resisted (add attributive) by Talleyrand 
and the plenipotentiary of Spain (use attributive for possessive), and 
they endeavoured earnestly (express by verb to be and possessive case) 
in a note (make this sentence emphatic), to show that the treaty of 
Chaumont, though formally to endure twenty years (insert prepo- 
sition expressing purpose), had in reality expired with the attain- 
ment of its objects, and that France at least must be admitted into 
the deliberations (express conditionally). Lord Castlereagh early 
perceived the necessity of a counterpoise to the preponderating 
influence of Russia in the conferences, and supported this note of 
M. de Talleyrand's; and Prince Metternich was actuated by 
similar views did the same (use relatives and get rid of first and 
third conjunctions). In consequence, it was agreed that a com- 
mittee, to whom the questions coming before the Congress might 
be submitted, should be the ministers of France, Spain, Portugal, 
and Sweden, as well as the four Allied Powers (connect clauses 
with not tmly, but). The Cardinal Gonsalvi, on the part of the 
Court of Rome, was afterwards received on the personal inter- 
cession of the Prince Regent of England (use some other preposition 



48 SYNTHESIS. 

for on); while the plenipotentiaries of Mnrat, King of Naples, 
the Kings of Sicily, of Bavaria, the Low Countries, Saxony, 
and Denmark, besides the ministers of the Swiss and^ Genoese 
Republics, were not admitted to the conference, but were in 
attendance {get rid of first were), and had their interests seconded 
by any of their more powerful neighbours that were disposed to 
support them {connect last clause by such as). 

A key was furnished by this preliminary difficulty, which 
always occurs in such cases, to the course which the different 
powers were likely to take in the approaching negotiation (use 
active voice and get rid of relatives)', but it was a considerable time 
before the real divisions appeared {turn into active voice and 
strengthen predicate). A great deal was done {render nominative 
by a single word), in the first instance, before any difference of 
opinion had taken place {employ without and present participle). 
Territories inhabited by thirty-one million six hundred and ninety- 
one thousand persons were at the disposal of the Allied Powers, 
and there was enough for each and to spare {get rid of and). It 
was at once agreed, in conformity with the secret articles of the 
Treaty of Paris, that Belgium should be united to Holland, and 
should form one kingdom under the title of the Netherlands 
{express words in italics by participle in apposition) ; that Norway 
integrally should be annexed to the existing kingdom of Sweden 
{omit words that are not essential to meaning); Hanover, with a 
considerable accession of territory taken from the kingdom of 
Westphalia, restored to the King of England {insert conjunction 
and verb); that Lombardy should again be placed under the rule 
of Austria; and that Savoy should again be placed under the 
kingdom of Piedmont {omit conjunction and use pronoun instead of 
repeating the words of preceding clause). So far matters were 
easily, readily, and amicably arranged {abridge this sentence), but 
the questions how Poland, Saxony, and Genoa were to be dis- 
posed of, were not so easily arranged {get rid of second, arranged). 
The first of them gave rise to dissensions so serious that they not 
only completely broke up for a time the Grand Alliance {correct this 
sentence) which had effected the deliverance of Europe, but, but for 
Napoleon's unexpected, and in that view opportune return from 
Elba {get rid of second but, and use possessive, with of for words in 
italics), the flames of war w T ould in all probability have again 
broken out, and the old allied forces have been conducted to 
mutual slaughter {use the verb led in first clause). 



THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



LESSON FOURTH. 



READING. 

The Congress of Vienna. 

\The following corrects the Exercise on Synthesis of preceding 

Lesson.'] 

While the French Government were thus striving, amidst 
the chaos of revolutionary passions, to close the wounds and 
mitigate the sufferings of the revolution, negotiations of the 
most important character for the general settlement of Europe 
had commenced, and were already considerably advanced at 
Vienna. It had been originally intended that the Congress 
should have commenced its sittings on the 29th July 1814, 
but the visit of the Allied Sovereigns to England, and their 
subsequent return to their own capitals, necessarily caused it 
to be adjourned, and it was not till the end of September that 
august assembly commenced, by the entry of the Emperor 
Alexander and the King of Prussia into the Austrian capital. 
These were immediately followed by the Kings of Bavaria, 
Denmark, and WUrtemburg, and a host of lesser Princes ; 
Lord Castlereagh, and subsequently the Duke of Wellington, 
on the part of England, and M. de Talleyrand on that of 
France, more efficiently than crowned heads could have done, 
upheld the dignity and maintained the interests of their 
respective monarchies. But, although the sovereigns and 
ministers in appearance kept up the most amicable and 
confidential relations, it was easy to see that their interests! 
and views were widely at variance, and that the removal of 
common danger and the division of common spoil had pro- 
duced their usual effect of sowing dissension among the victors. 
A preliminary question of precedence first arose as to the 
rank of the different states assembled and their representatives: 
but this was at once terminated by the happy expedient of 
Alexander, that they should be arranged and should sign in 
the alphabetical order of their respective states. But a more 
serious difficulty soon after occurred as to the states which 
should in their own right as principals take part in the 
deliberations; and it was suggested, at the outset, by the 

e 



50 READING. 

ministers of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Great Britain, that 
they should in the first instance come to an agreement as to 
the disposal of the territories wrested from France and its 
allies, before they entered into conferences with France and 
Spain. This proposal was naturally resisted by Talleyrand 
and the Spanish Plenipotentiary; and it was their earnest 
endeavour, in an energetic note, to show that the treaty of 
Chaumont, though formally to endure for twenty years, had 
in reality expired with the attainment of its objects, and that 
France at least should be admitted into the deliberations. 
Lord Castlereagh, who early perceived the necessity of a 
counterpoise to the preponderating influence of Russia in the 
conferences, supported this note of M. de Talleyrand's ; and 
Prince Metternich, who was actuated by similar views, did 
the same. In consequence, it was agreed that a committee, 
to whom the questions coming before the Congress might be 
submitted, should be the ministers not only of the four Allied 
Powers, but of France, Spain, Portugal, and Sweden. The 
Cardinal Gonsalvi, on the part of the Court of Rome, was 
afterwards received, through the personal intercession of the 
Prince Regent of England; while the Plenipotentiaries of 
Murat, King of Naples, the Kings of Sicily, of Bavaria, the 
Low Countries, Saxony, and Denmark, besides the Ministers 
of the Swiss and Genoese Republics, though not admitted to 
the conferences of the greater powers, were in attendance at 
Vienna, and had their interests seconded by any such of their 
more powerful neighbours as were disposed to support them. 
This preliminary difficulty, as always occurs in such cases, 
furnished a key to the course the different powers were likely 
to take in the approaching negotiation; but a considerable 
time elapsed before the real divisions appeared. Much was 
done, in the first instance, without any difference of opinion 
taking place. Territories inhabited by thirty-one million six 
hundred and ninety-one thousand persons being at the disposal 
of the Allied Powers, there was for each enough and to spare. 
It was at once agreed, in conformity with the secret articles 
of the Treaty of Paris, that Belgium, united to Holland, 
should form one kingdom under the title of the Netherlands ; 
that Norway. should be annexed to Sweden; that Hanover, 
with a considerable accession of territory taken from the 
kingdom of Westphalia, should be restored to the King of 
England ; that Lombardy should again be placed under the 
rule of Austria, and Savoy under that of Piedmont. So far 
all was easily arranged, but the questions how Poland, 
Saxony and Genoa, were to be disposed of, were not so easily 
adjusted. The first of them gave rise to dissensions so serious 



CONSTRUCTION. 51 

as not only to break up completely for a time the Grand 
Alliance which had effected the deliverance of Europe, but, 
had it not been for the unexpected, and in that view most 
opportune, return of Napoleon from Elba, would in all pro- 
bability have led to the flames of war again breaking out, 
and to the old allied forces being conducted to mutual 
slaughter. — Alison. 

TEXT. 
The numbers refer to table of vowel sounds given in the 
first lesson. 

9 4 11 12 13 15 6 15 4 6 1 6 

A phl-lOs-O-phEr whO h Ap-pen-ed tO bE pAss-Ing thAt 

7 541 47 17 12 47 5 

wAY, pEr-cEIv-Ing thE nA-tUre Of thE cAse, sAId: 

14 6 6 1 4 13 12 15 ' 12| 15 14 5 

sUch, Al-As, Is thE wOrld ! wOe tO thOse whO cOv-Et 
l i 
rlch-Es. 

The marks refer to the rhetorical inflexions and pauses 
explained in first lesson. 

A^philosopher | who^happened^to^be^passing^that 
w way | perceivings the ^nature w of w the w case j said: 
Such | alas j is w the w world ! | W6e w to^those w who w 
covet w riches ! 

CONSTRUCTION. 

In constructing sentences there are certain general laws 
which must be observed. These laws being followed by all 
writers cannot be infringed without setting every authority at 
defiance: they are the recognised elements of the English 
idiom, consequently identical with the language itself; and 
no combination of words which involves a breach of any one 
of them can properly be considered an English sentence. 
The most important of these general principles are embraced 
in the following rules : — 

I. An article is not employed with nouns used in a general or 
indefinite sense. * He was raised to the rank of a lieutenant,' should 
be ' rank of lieutenant.' ' The Grecian mind was directed into the 
healthy channels of induction and experiment,' should be 'into 
healthy channels/ 

1. The article is used to determine some particular object. 'Smoke 
ascends a little way above the surface, and before any particular height is 
reached it melts into air,' should be 'it melts into the air :' to melt into air 
signifies to become air, which is not what is meant. 

2. The indefinite article a is used before words beginning with a conso- 
nant; as, 'a traveller,' 'a long way.' A becomes an before a word 
beginning with a vowel or silent h; as, ' an intention;' 'an herb.' 

But a is used for the sake of harmony before the vowel u, when that 



52 CONSTRUCTION. 

letter has the sound of the word yon, as 'a unit.' A, for a like reason, 
should be used before the word humour and its derivations, silent h being 
followed by a similar sound of u. 

3. When two or more nouns follow each other, the article is usually 
appended to the first, and understood with the others ; as, ' a sword, 
musket and pike, were given up to the authorities.' 

The sentence, ' The plain was strewed with stunted tufts of the poisonous 
and prickly euphorbia, 1 means one kind of euphorbia. When distinct 
objects are signified, the article must be repeated. ' The prince and 
general fell mortally wounded,' (if two persons are meant) should be 'the 
prince and the general fell mortally wounded.' 

4. When two nouns follow each other, one commencing with a consonant 
the other with a vowel, the indefinite article must be repeated. ' He bought 
a sheep and ox,' should be ' he bought a sheep and an ox.' 

II. Nouns must be in the plural number when more than one of 
an object are implied. ' The Bentleys and Scagliers of modern 
philology had no unworthy precursor in the Alexandrian Aristo- 
phanes and Aristarchus,' should be ' had no unworthy precursors.'' 

III. When a possessive case is used, the sign must be employed. 
' They spoke of the kings abdication,' should be ' they spoke of the 
hinges abdication/ 

1. The object possessed may be understood; as, 'I called at the book- 
seller's (shop)'. 

2. The sign of the possessive is sometimes used after the preposition of; 
as, 'The Church of St. Paul's;' 'A palace of the Queen's.' This construc- 
tion, at least in so far as regards the first example, is scarcely a legitimate 
use of the possessive case ; but such expressions as ' A letter of Napier's, ' 
' A statue of the duke's,' are recognised by our best writers. The double 
possessive thus employed is supposed to imply that there are more than one 
of the object possessed : it is correct to say ' I met a cousin of yours,' but 
an error to say ' I met a wife of yours.' 

3. A possessive case is sometimes converted into an adjective ; as, ' A 
horse collar,' for ' A horse's collar :' there is, however, a limit to this con- 
struction; we cannot say ' The Queen palace,' for 'The Queen's palace.' 

4. The possessive case must not be placed so as to create confusion in the 
meaning. 'A blue gentleman's stock,' should be 'a gentleman's blue stock.' 

IV. Adjectives must not be used for adverbs, nor adverbs for 
adjectives. ' He thinks high of the people,' should be ' he thinks 
highly;' * They lingered over the nightly view/ should be 'night 
view/ 

1. Adjectives qualify nouns ; as, ' He is a timorous man ; his credulity is 
lamentable.' 

Adverbs qualify adjectives and other adverbs; as, 'The colour is ex- 
tremely black;' 'he speaks rather abruptly.' They likewise extend the 
meaning of verbs; as, 'he looked upwards;' and also express some 
attribute of a sentence; as, 'positively, I will do so.' 

2. Participles ending in ted become adjectives by omitting the d ; as, 
'situate' from 'situated;' 'devote' from 'devoted.' When the idea of 
action is to be preserved, the d must not be omitted. ' The wine was dilute 
with water,' should be ' the wine was diluted with water.' 

3. Adverbs and adjectives should be used sparingly: a superfluous use 
of either weakens the language of the writer. Such phrases as 'correctly 
elegant,' 'beautifully transparent,' ' sublimely refined', have no meaning. 
' Newton was a nobly illustrious and highly learned man,' resembles ' Peck- 
sniff's grandly magnificent and highly imposing pump.' 



CONSTRUCTION. 53 

V. Pronouns must agree in number, gender and person, with the 
nouns they represent. * The traveller put poison in the viands, and 
administered it to his companions,' should be l administered them.' 

1. When several nouns occur in a sentence, the pronoun agrees with the 
subject. 'This negro had been the ruler of all the slaves; they were made 
prisoners, fighting in his cause, by another prince, who was more fortunate 
than they,' should be 'than he.' 

2. Pronouns must not be employed to repeat the noun in a simple affir- 
mation. 'The traveller he said,' should be 'The traveller said.' Poets, 
especially ballad writers, sometimes infringe this rule ; as, 

' The night it was gloomy, 
The wind it was high.' 

VI. The relative pronouns who, which, and that, must agree with 
the antecedent or noun to which they refer. ' The man which,* 
should be 'the man who.' 

1. Who relates to persons; as, 'The travellers who found a treasure.' 
Which relates to things; as, 'The treasure which the travellers found.' 
That to either persons or things; as, 'The men that died;' 'the materials 
that were obtained for a repast.' 

2. Who becomes whose in the possessive case; as, 'Darius, a king of 
Persia, whose tomb still exists.' 

3. Who becomes whom when under the government of an active verb or 
a preposition; as, 'The man whom we met;' 'the person to whom we 
spoke ' {see Rules VIII. and XXII.) 

Whose and whom, like the nominative who, relate only to persons. 
' I trust the reader will glean some amusement from these volumes, for 
whose faults I beseech his indulgence,' should be 'for the faults of which.' 

4. Which is used with persons in an interrogative sentence ; as, ' Which 
of the travellers perished V 

The older writers made which relate to persons ; as, ' Our Father which 
art in heaven;' but this construction is now considered ungrammatical. 

Which is used with nouns of multitude implying persons; as, 'The 
Court of St. James's who,' should be 'The Court of St. James's which.' 

The expression 'the things which,' may be rendered by what. 'I had 
forgotten what you told me,' is equivalent to ' I have forgotten the things 
which you told me.' ' Introductions are anything else rather than that 
they profess to be,' should be 'rather than what, or the things which, they 
profess to be.' 

5. That is always used with antecedents of different genders. ' The man 
and horse which passed this way,' should be 'the man and horse that 
passed this way.' 

The word that is not always a relative. In the sentence ' The travellers 
were so fatigued that they could not walk,' that is a conjunction. Whether 
that is used as a connective particle or a pronoun it is frequently omitted ; 
as, 'He was so weak (that) he could not walk;' 'The traveller said 
(that) such was the case;' 'The man (that) I spoke of.' Though ellipses 
of this kind may be allowed in familiar discourse, it is inadmissible where 
accuracy is desirable. 'They returned to the nlar e they had left,' would be 
more correctly rendered by ' they returned to the place that they had left.' 

That, as a relative pronoun, is never preceded by a preposition : we may 
say, ' I saw the person of whom you spoke ;' but we must say, ' I saw the 
person that you spoke to.' 

5. Who, which, and that, are used indiscriminately with collective nouns 
expressive of persons : we may say ' The people who, which, or that, were 
there. It is an error, however, to use who and which in the same sentence. 
'The party who now rule in France, and which recently came into power,' 



54 CONSTRUCTION. 

should be ' the party who now rule in France, and that recently came into 
power.' 

6. Other parts of speech are occasionally used as relative pronouns. 
' I will do as he bids me ;' as is equivalent to what or that which. In the 
sentence 'As the tree falls, so it must lie,' as has the power of a relative, and 
so of a demonstrative pronoun. 

7. To prevent ambiguity the relative should be placed as near as possible 
to its antecedent. ' The statue was given to Belzoni by an Arab chief, in 
exchange for a fine elephant, who lived on the banks of the Nile,' should be 
' the statue was given to Belzoni by an Arab chief, who lived on the batiks 
of the Nile, in exchange for a fine elephant. 

8. Where, whence, whither, may be regarded as relatives under the 
government of a preposition. ' The house has been taken down, but this 
is the spot where or on which it stood.' Words used in this way must have 
the same position with relation to their antecedents, as who, which, and 
that. ' The house has a large portico, where Sir James lived, ' should be 
'The house where or in which Sir James lived has a large portico:' unless, 
indeed, Sir James did actually live in the portico.' 

VII. The demonstrative pronouns this and that agree in number 
with the nouns they determine. ' Have you seen this travellers,' 
should be ' have you seen these travellers.' 

1. This and that are used with nouns in the singular, these and those with 
nouns in the plural number. 

2. This and these determine objects near, that and those point to objects 
relatively distant. ' The Arab chiefs of these remote ages lived in caves,' 
should be ' of those remote ages;' ' I have not seen him those three years,' 
should be ' these three years.' 

3. The demonstratives frequently have the nouns they determine under- 
stood; as, — 

Some place the bliss in action, some in ease ; 
Those call it pleasure, and contentment these. 

4. When employed to point out two objects mentioned before, that refers 
to the former and this to the latter. 

5. The personal pronoun they must not be used instead of a demonstra- 
tive : they cannot be used unless the objects it represents are named in the 
context. ' They who are adepts in music are pleased with intricate compo- 
sition,' should be ' those who.' 

6. A demonstrative must not be employed in the place of a personal 
pronoun. ' Having been engaged in extra tuition of some students in that 
school, I felt myself more competent to speak of that than of other national 
academies.' In this sentence the second demonstrative refers to extra 
tuition, which is not what is meant ; the writer should have said ' more 
competent to speak of it.' 

VIII. Active verbs govern the objective case. 'They met he 
and / on the road,' should be 'they met him and me;' ' Who did 
they meet?' should be • whom did they meet?' 

1. A pronoun in answer should be in the same case as the question. 
Quest. — Who met them? Ans. — He. Quest. — Whom did he meet? 
Ans. — Them. 

2. When the relative is in the objective case it comes before the verb 
which governs it; as, 'These are the travellers whom we saw.' 

The subject generally comes between the relative and the verb, as in the 
case of the pronoun we in the above example. 

3. Neuter and passive verbs do not admit of an objective case after them ; 
as 'He endeavoured him to form a clear conception of the subject,' should 
be 'he endeavoured to form a clear conception of the subject.' 



CONSTRUCTION. 55 

A noun, adjective, or verb, following another verb, without the interven- 
tion of a preposition, may be considered an objective case ; as, ' He bought 
poison,' * He works hard.' ' He stops writing.' 

IX. The verb ' to be ' has the same case after it that it has before 
it. * It is me,' should be * It is /.' 'I thought it to be he,' should be 
' I thought it to be him J 

1. Cobbett says that " the nominative case should always be used after it 
and the verb to be;" but if it is under the government of a transitive verb, 
and, consequently, an objective case, the pronoun after the verb 'to be ' 
should certainly be likewise in the objective case : we cannot say ' I took 
he;' we must say 'I took him.' Him is an objective case, and in the 
sentence ' I took it,' it must likewise be an objective; and if a part of the 
verb * to be ' and another pronoun are added, the second pronoun, according 
to this rule, must also be in the objective case, thus, ' I took it to be him.' 

The idiom of the language appears to admit the use of an objective pro- 
noun after it and the verb to be, even in cases where it can scarcely be 
considered directly under government of a transitive verb, as, for example, 
in the following sentences : — ' I considered it to have been him, and not 
the other persons.' ' I suspect that it must have been us they were talking 
about.' ' It might not have been the French we observed, but it certainly 
appeared to be t/iem.' Cobbett insists upon the nominative being used in 
all such sentences, but common usage is decidedly of an opposite practice. 

" The verbs to make, to render, to appoint, to elect, to think, to consider, 
are (in certain uses of them) incomplete predicates, requiring a nominative 
if they are in the passive voice, and a second accusative if they are in the 
active voice, to complete their predication." — Arnold. 

2. When the pronoun after it and the verb to be is nominative to another 
clause, that person or those persons must be used. ' It must have been they 
who met us,' should be 'it must have been those persons who met us.' 

X. The past participle, and not the past tense, must be used after 
the verbs to have and to be. * Js that the steamer we ought to have 
went by ' should be ' gone by/ 

1. The past participle must not be used for the past tense. ' They drunk 
the wine,' should be 'they drank.' 

2. The regular form of the past tense must not be used when the verb is 
irregular. ' They teared down the trees,' should be ' they tore down.' 

XI. When an event is described as past, present, or future, at 
some given period, the proper sequence of time must be observed, 
' He has come yesterday,' should be ' he came yesterday.' 

When two events are described as having occurred at the same period of 
time, the tenses must correspond. ' He said to himself as he goes along,' 
should be 'he said to himself as he went along.' 

XII. The verb shall in the first person foretels, in the other 
persons it commands ; the verb will in the first person expresses 
emphatically the speaker's intention, in the other persons it is a 
simple future. ' Will I help you V should be ' shall I help you V 
1 Shall your brother be in town to-morrow V should be i will your 
brother be in town to-morrow V 

1. The following is a slightly modified version of this rule, which may be 
readily committed to memory : — 

In the first person simply shall foretels ; 
In will a threat or else a promise dwells ; 
Shall in the second and the third does threat ; 
Will simply then foretels the coming feat. 



56 CONSTRUCTION. 

2. Should and would obey the same rules of construction as shall and 
will. 

XIII. One verb governs another in the infinitive mood. 'He 
already possesses too much knowledge to wish appear more learned,' 
should be ' to wish to appear more learned.' 

1. This rule does not imply that an infinitive must be used in all cases 
after another verb, the participle present is frequently used; as, 'He will 
go as soon as possible, not returning to India;' but when the purpose, 
object, or design of the first, is to be expressed by the second verb, the 
infinitive should be used; as, 'He will go as soon as possible to return to 
India.' 

2. All the prepositions, except to, govern the participle present. ' He 
prepares for to move,' should be ' he prepares for moving,' or ' he prepares 
to move,' 

3. The particle to is omitted after the verbs observe, perceive, behold, bid, 
dare, let, hear, see, feel, need, make, and the defective verbs may, might, can, 
could, will, would, shall, should, must. ' He made his pupils to stare with 
his terms of art,' should be ' he made his pupils stare.' 

XIV. When doubt or uncertainty is to be emphatically expressed, 
the subjunctive mood may be used. ' Though he forbids me, yet 
I will go,' might be ' though he forbid me.' ' It looks as if the 
weather was broken,' might be ' as if the weather were.' 

1. The subjunctive mood is the same as the present indicative, the per- 
sonal terminations est and s of the latter being omitted, as in ' If thou love 
me, keep my commandments.' The verb ' to be ' only has distinct forms 
for the subjunctive : the verb 'to have ' has no subjunctive forms, but the 
past indicative had is used to express a present or future contingency ; as, 
' If I had ' or ' had I wings I would fly :' had used in this way is virtually 
a present conditional, and may be regarded as a subjunctive mood. Lowth 
and many of his successors appear to think that in most cases where this 
mood is used, the indicative might be employed with the greatest propriety. 

2. Cobbett, who is very dogmatic on this matter, says that " the subjunc- 
tive forms must be used wherever the auxiliaries may or should can be 
introduced." Now, according to this rule, if we can say 'If the weather 
should continue wet we shall soon have a storm,' we must say ' If the weather 
continue wet we shall soon have a storm:' but, notwithstanding Cobbett's 
opinion, common usage generally uses the indicative form, and prefers 
saying 'If the weather continues wet,' etc. 

"If is often followed by the conditional forms, but it is not necessary 
to use these forms except where the contingency is to be strongly marked." 
— Arnold. 

3. But after verbs implying supplication, or when an assertion is alto- 
gether hypothetical, the subjunctive forms of the verb to be must be 
employed; as, 'I wish I were you.' 'Would that he were here.' ' Were I 
to do so, I would be blamed.' 

XV. A verb must agree with its nominative, in number and 
person. 'The three travellers who were perishing with hunger sends 
in quest of provisions,' should be ' send.' 

1. The nominative to a verb may consist of another verb, or of an entire 
sentence; as, '7b be or not to be, that is the question:' 'That you have 
wronged me appears in this.' 

2. The nominative generally precedes the verb ; as, 'The extensive forests 
of the Zitikama, which supply the Cape colony, abound in buffalo, bear, and 
antelope.' 

In interrogative sentences, and after nor or neither, the nominative follows 



CONSTRUCTION. 57 

the verb; as, 'Does lie depart to-morrow?' 'Neither did he go, nor did I send 
him.' 

The verb is sometimes made to precede the nominative; as, 'There is 
the keys,' should be 'there are the keys.' ' To the functions of legislator 
are due much respect,' should be 'to the functions of legislator is due 
much respect;' or 'much respect is due to the functions of legislator.' 

3. Single nouns expressing a multitude in the aggregate, as Jlock, swarm, 
tribe, may have either a singular or plural verb according to the tenor of 
the context; as, 'The cannon was left on the field a prey to the enemy;' or 
'The cannon were carried one by one into the camp.' 

The same rule is applicable to adjectives used as nouns: ' All on board 
were lost;' or, 'All around was still.' 

4. Such words as snuffers, bellows, compasses, require a verb in the plural; 
but when the word pair is added, a singular verb is used: we say, 'snuffers 
snuff";' but, 'a pair of snuffers snuffs.' 

Names of sciences ending in ics, as mathematics, generally have a verb in 
the plural, but are sometimes used with a singular verb. 

The words deer, sheep, fish, means, news, pains, are both singular and 
plural; the words wages, riches, alms, are now generally followed by a 
plural verb ; though the older writers appear to have considered them 
singular; as, in the sentence, 'The wages of sin is death.' 

5. Each, every, either, neither, and words significative of a single object, 
require a verb in the singular: 'None of the travellers ivere hungry,' should 
be 'none (not one) of the travellers was hungry.': 

6. The adjuncts of the nominative do not control the verb: 'The march 
of the troops were rapid,' should be 'the march of the troops was rapid.' 
This rule will however depend upon the relation of the adjunct to the subject; 
'The bunch of grapes were sour,' is better than 'the bunch of grapes was 
sour. ' 

XVI. Two subjects coupled with and require a verb in the plural : 
* The vanity and want of discrimination in the royal patron was in- 
jurious, it opened the gates of the university to a crowd of dunces \ 
should be ' the vanity and want of discrimination in the royal patron 
were injurious, they opened the gates of the university to a crowd of 
dunces/ 

1. Two subjects coupled with any other conjunction likewise require a 
verb in the plural: 'Peter as also John was there,' should be ' Peter as also 
John were there.' 

2. When two nouns coupled with a conjunction signify the same thing 
the verb should be singular; as, 'The soldier and officer was killed at the 
head of his company;' as also when the one subject is a mere adjunct of 
the other: 'The traveller with the treasure were sent away,' should be 
•the traveller with the treasure was sent away.' 

XVII. Two subjects separated by or or nor require a verb in the 
singular: ' Gold or silver used as a medium of exchange give great 
facility to the merchant/ should be 'gold or silver gives.' 'Neither 
art nor design have been consulted,' should be ' has been consulted.' 

1. When the subjects separated by or or nor are of different numbers, 
the plural subject is placed nearest the verb and a plural verb used: 'Either 
the stars or the moon is reflected on the lake,' should be 'either the moon or 
the stars are reflected on the lake.' 

To avoid such a contact of dissimilar numbers it is better, however, to 
alter the construction, thus: 'The lake reflects either the moon or the stars.' 

XVIII. In a relative sentence the verb agrees with the subject to 



58 CONSTRUCTION. 

which the relative refers: '/ who speaks is that man,' should be '/ 
who speak am that man.' 

1. This rule is merely extending the principle that a verb must agree 
with its nominative to an isolated case. The relative in no way affects the 
government of the verb, the nominative governing the verb through the 
relative. 

2. When the relative is preceded by two antecedents the verb agrees 
with the last: 'Are you the person who were enquiring for me,' should be 
'are you the person who was enquiring for me.' 

This rule is, however, exceptional: 'You and the other person who was 
enquiring for me,' should be 'you and the other person who were enquiring 
for me :' agreeably to Rule XVI. 

XIX. The adverb must be placed as near as possible to the verb 
it qualifies: 'We are liable to be always deceived,' should be 'we 
are always liable to be deceived.' 

1 . The position of the adverb frequently affects the meaning of a proposi- 
tion: 'I have only burnt two of them,' supposes that, though only two were 
burnt, several might have been torn or otherwise destroyed. ' I have burnt 
only two of them' confines the act of destruction to the two objects that 
were burnt. 'The property was given away absolutely,' signifies that the 
property was given away without the power of redemption. 'The property 
was absolutely given away,' signifies that the property was sold somewhat 
below its real value* 

2. When the sense of a sentence does not require any departure from 
the usual order of the words, the adverb should be placed : — 

a. Before the word which it qualifies : ' She was beautiful exceedingly, ' 
should be 'she was exceedingly beautiful.' 

b. Between the auxiliary and the verb : 'They have seen him in the 
streets repeatedly,' should be 'they have repeatedly seen him in the streets.' 

When there are two or more auxiliaries the adverb is placed between 
the two first: 'He might have been elected easily,' should be 'he might 
easily have been elected.' 

c. After the verb: 'He immediately rose and went away,' should be 'he 
rose immediately.' 'Run to the doctor's as fast as you can,' should be 'run 
as fast as you can. ' 

When the verb is followed by an objective case, the adverb follows the 
objective : 'They rashly refused him,' should be 'they refused him rashly.' 

The word never must precede the verb: 'He walks never alone,' should 
be 'he never walks alone.' 

3. The adverb is sometimes placed at the beginning of a clause; thus, 
' Assuredly he might have acted with more discretion.' 'Immediately he rose 
the others sat down.' This last construction is not, however, considered 
strictly logical. 

XX. Two negatives in the same sentence are improper: 'The 
soldier never finds amidst the toils of military life no leisure for the 
pursuit of useful knowledge;' 'no' should be 'any.' 

Two or more negatives are however frequently used in an affirmative 
sense; as, 'In German the definite article is employed to point out the 
genders : there are few cases w r here it can be omitted, a great many in which 
it must be employed, and none in which it may not be used without ^pro- 
priety.' 

XXI. The relation of one object to another should be expressed 
by the appropriate preposition : 'He walked over the bridge/ should 
be 'he walked across or along the bridge.' 



CONSTRUCTION. 



59 



1. To expresses a relation of motion between one object and another; as, 
'The traveller went to Rome.' At a relation of repose; as, 'He arrived at 
Rome.' In a relation of repose within another object; as, 'The wine is in 
the hamper.' Into expresses a combined relation of motion and repose; as, 
' Put the wine into the hamper.' It is an error to say ' He arrived in Rome ;' 
'He lives to Rome;' or 'He goes at Rome.' 

2. In some expressions certain words govern a particular preposition; as, 
' Independently of the intelligence obtained agreeably to your request, there 
are several persons here conversant with the subject and worthy of credit, 
who will not be averse to furnish you with further information relative to the 
case in which you are retained.' 

But generally the preposition is varied according to the nature of the 
relation to be expressed; as, 'The beauty of the poem consists in its simpli- 
city.' 'The composition consists of three ingredients.' 

3. When a participle present is preceded by an article, the preposition of 
must follow it; 'The poisoning the viands occupied the mind of the traveller,' 
should be 'the poisoning of the viands occupied the mind of the traveller.' 

Such barbarisms, as, 'He was a thinking o/,' 'he was a speaking of,' 
are corruptions of this rule. 

It is better to omit both article and preposition under such circumstances ; 
thus, 'The idea of poisoning the viands occupied the mind of the traveller.' 

XXII. Prepositions govern the objective case: 'They have sent 
for he and // should be 'they have sent for him and me.* Who was 
the parcel sent to,' should be 'whom was the parcel sent to.' 

It is immaterial whether the preposition which governs a relative is 
placed after the verb, or between the pronoun and its antecedent. We may 
either say, 'This is a pleasure which 1 was not prepared for,' or 'this is a 
pleasure for which I was not prepared.' It is perhaps better in some cases 
to place the preposition immediately before the relative ; thus, ' To whom 
was the parcel sent.' 

XXIII. Some words require to be followed by corresponding 
particles : ' I will write so soon as I receive his letter/ should be 
' I will write as soon as I receive his letter.' 

1. Although or though is generally followed by yet ; as, ' Though he is 
poor, yet he is honest.' 

Yet may be omitted ; as, ' Though poor, he is honest.' 
Although may be followed by other particles ; as, ' Although he is poor, 
still he may be honest.' 

2. As is generally used after such. ' There are such things in nature that 
are not dreamt of in your philosophy,' should be ' there are such things in 
nature as are not dreamt of in your philosophy.' 

That is the proper relative after such. ' The force of the torrent was 
such as it carried everything before it,' should be ' the force of the torrent 
was such that, etc' 

3. When a degree of superiority is affirmed, so — that must be used. 
' He ran so fast as I could not catch him,' should be 'he ran so fast that I 
could not catch him.' 

4. When equality of manner is affirmed, as — so must be used. ' So he 
promises, so he performs,' should be 'as he promises, so he performs.' 

So in this construction is generally omitted ; thus, ' He performs as he 
promises.' 

5. When equality of degree is affirmed, as — as must be used. ' He ran 
so fast as I did,' should be 'he ran as fast as I did.' 

6. When equality of degree is affirmed negatively, so — as must be used. 
' He is not as rich as he was,' should be ' he is not so rich as he was.' 

As, so, and that, when thus employed, are classed as conjunctions ; but 



60 COMPOSITION. 

we have seen (Rule VI. 6,) that these particles have rather the power of 
relative pronouns. 

XXIV. Conjunctions couple the same moods and tenses of verbs. 
* One of the travellers departed and obtains materials for a repast,' 
should be ' departs and obtains/ or ' departed and obtained/ 

1. Conjunctions likewise couple the same cases of pronouns. 'They met 
him and /,' should be 'they met him and me' 

Conjunctions do not themselves affect the cases of pronouns : in the 
sentence, 'They met him and me,' the active verb met governs both 
pronouns — see Rule VIII. 

In the sentence ' He went further than /,' the pronoun I may be con- 
sidered the nominative to the verb did understood. 

2. Conjunctions generally unite two or more simple assertions, at the 
same time pointing out some relation between them. In the sentence 
'Save all here save that worthy friar,' the second save is classed as a 
conjunction, though it has rather the power of a preposition, as in ' Save 
all, here except that worthy friar.' In the sentence 'He stood up yet he 
said nothing,' yet connects two simple assertions, and is consequently 
a conjunction. In the sentence 'They had not yet found a treasure,' yet 
is used as an adverb ; but it would be better to say ' They had not then 
found a treasure.' 

The foregoing rules embrace the general principles which 
are most frequently violated by writers and speakers ; some 
other peculiarities to be observed in the formation of sentences 
will be noticed under the head Composition. 

COMPOSITION. 

Composition may be defined as the art of putting our 
ideas into words, and of arranging these words with order 
and propriety. Teachers have suggested various methods for 
introducing the learner to the practice of Composition. Some 
recommend the description of an object ; as, ' a saw/ ' a table/ 
'a cone ;' others advocate an abstraction, as 'envy/ and require 
this idea to be defined, explained, and illustrated. The diffi- 
culty does not, however, lie in finding a subject, nor even in 
knowing how to treat it, but in expressing the notions formed 
upon it with perspicuity. "What the learner has to do, is to 
acquire facility in clearly expressing his thoughts in what is 
properly understood to be the idiom of the English language ; 
this, like perfection in most other things, may be accomplished 
by practice ; but, at the same time, if the notions formed of a 
subject are not clear, if the ideas themselves are feeble, their 
expression must of necessity be indistinct. 

Generally speaking, to write or speak correctly is nothing 
more than to speak or write intelligibly; but in writing a 
certain degree of ornament is desirable, as well to render a 
subject more attractive, as to place it more effectively before 
the eye of the reader. A naked thought is often improved 
by a little chaste garniture, and the manner in which a writer 
thus clothes his language is designated Style. 



COMPOSITION. 61 

It may be laid down as a general law, that the mode of 
expressing a thought or series of thoughts is incorrect when 
the meaning is obscure ; either the words have no meaning 
whatever, or if they have a meaning there is an error of some 
kind somewhere : the sentences may want connexion or be 
badly arranged ; there may be too many words, or too few ; 
they may have been injudiciously selected, or may be im- 
properly applied: whenever the sense is not apparent, the 
construction is ungrammatical and the composition faulty. 
In order that the learner may avoid this kind of error, the 
following general rules should be observed : — 

Avoid all vulgar expressions, and generally regard every 
word which has not obtained the sanction of polite usage with 
suspicion. 

Never use such grandiloquent expressions, as tenebrosity 
for darkness, ponderosity for weight, the limpid element for 
water, the arms of Morpheus for sleep, in speaking of trifles. 
Beginners, in an endeavour to be elegant, are very apt to 
apply obscure designations of this kind to simple objects. 

Obsolete words, as ycleped, eke, anon, enow, give a forced 
tone to the colouring of a sentence. This class of words is 
however effective in poetry; as, 

11 Whilome there dwelt in Albion's Isle." — Childe Harold. 

Such words as morn for morning, eve for evening, oft for 
often, likewise belong to the vocabulary of the poet, and are 
inadmissible in prose composition. 

The repetition of the same word in a sentence, or the 
employment of such a verb as get for all sorts of purposes, as 
get up for ascend, get down for descend, get round for recover, 
get in for go in, get out for go out, get at for reach, get a coat 
off for take off a coat, get dinner for dine, implies either great 
poverty in the language itself, or great ignorance in the writer 
of his own vocabulary. 

It is considered a vain or pedantic affectation to use foreign 
terms, as terra firma, tete-a-tete, vis-d-vis, sotto voce, hauteur, 
when English words equally expressive may be found. This 
practice in a great measure expired with the fashionable 
novelists of the past century, whose style has never been 
upheld as a correct model for imitation. Such words as 
intensify, opinionate, to accite, used by American writers, 
must likewise by regarded as aliens, until they have obtained 
the sanction of polite usage. 

Beginners sometimes confound words of similar orthography 
but different meaning, as ingenuous for ingenious, corporal for 
corporeal, principle for principal, eminent for imminent, genius 
for genus, counsel for council, presumptive for presumptuous, 



b% COMPOSITION. 

contemptuous for contemptible, affect for effect, ludicrous for 
ridiculous, momentous for momentary, least for lest. 

It is necessary to be cautious in using what are called 
synonyms : most writers to avoid tautology, or the repetition 
of the same word, are in the habit of harmonising their 
sentences by introducing words of apparent similarity in 
meaning, and thus often unconsciously obscure the sense. In 
a case of this kind, when choice lies between two words, 
the one with a simple signification and the other with two, 
choose the former; because any superfluous or accessory idea 
renders the expression of a subject less distinct. The words 
clear and transparent are synonymous in one respect, both 
words imply freedom from obscurity ; but an object may be 
clear and yet not be transparent, whilst a transparent object 
must necessarily be clear. Entire and complete are considered 
to be synonymous, but a thing may be entire and not complete ; 
we may have the entire work of an artist, but it may not be a 
complete work. It is useful to weigh with attention the force 
of words, for the more the distinction between a variety of 
verbal meaning is observed, the more perspicuous will be the 
composition. The learner, where possible, should likewise 
prefer euphonous to harsh or clumsy words when the meaning 
is identical, as inutility to us elessness, pathos to patheticalness , 
capability to capableness. 

Endeavour to distinguish general from specific terms when 
a precise idea is meant to be conveyed. Instead of saying 
' to settle a quarrel by gentle remonstrance,' { to hear the cry 
of horses/ ' to bellow like a cow,' { to listen to the murmuring 
of bees,' ' to see an eagle flying,' it is better to say ' appease a 
quarrel,' i the neighing of horses,' ( to low like a cow/ ' the 
hum of bees/ ( an eagle soaring.' 

An important element in a correct style is precision, the 
learner should therefore avoid circumlocution, or the use of 
several words, to express what might be better expressed by 
one ; thus, ( The thing was clear and evident,' should be ' the 
thing was obvious. 3 ' A plain, simple, and unaffected man / 
plain and simple are superfluous. ' An awful and appaling 
scene/ appaling embraces awful. ' He was a talented intel- 
lectual man/ a talented man is necessarily an intellectual man, 
but a man may be intellectual without being talented, f a 
talented man' therefore is sufficient. 6 A diligent active man/ 
should be ' a diligent man/ for a man may be active and not 
diligent, but we cannot conceive a diligent man as not being 
active in some degree. A similar remark is applicable to 
' He was quite aware and conscious of it/ and such like sen- 
tences. A redundancy of words weakens the effect of a 



SYNTHESIS. 63 

sentence, and indicates either ignorance of the precise 
meanings of the words themselves, or a feeble conception of 
the idea they are intended to express. 

It is not, however, advisable for the learner to be over 
fastidious at the outset; searching for a more appropriate 
word or a happier expression would be to enhance precision 
at the expense of perspicuity; better hazard the one than 
peril the other : write first, and correct afterwards, but 
endeavour to acquire the habit of writing correctly. 

SYNTHESIS. 

Correct the following sentences agreeably to the rules of 
Construction : 

1. Fear is the anticipation of an evil. 

2. The traveller was awarded a title and estate. 

3. The riches are the source of many evils. 

4. The travellers lived in ages we usually call dark. 

5. Our universities do not generally promote the study of geology 
and chemistry. 

6. Geography and astronomy make an equal stride. 

7. Euclid produced a model of clear demonstrations. 

8. They spoke of the traveller having found a treasure. 

9. I heard of the treasure being lost. 

10. We knew of you going. 

11. There was an indomitably wildness in the scene. 

12. Volcanoes are rarely displays of supernatural power. 

13. Your committee would strong and affectionately urge. 

14. Results recurring frequent are often disregarded. 

15. If the old almanac system and its ' Francis Moore' are to be 
discarded, something else must be found for us in its place. 

16. The Jews under the Ptolemies were far from being a perse- 
cuted race ; on the contrary, it enjoyed very extensive privileges. 

17. Caesar tells us of three indigenous languages in Gaul, and we 
find traces of it at the present day. 

18. The traveller beheld the obelisk of Osirtesen, who was 60 
feet high. 

19. A pardon was obtained from the king by means of an old 
helmet, who happened to be present. 

20. Egypt had colleges of priests and prophets, and those were 
part and parcel of the church establishment. 

21. Take that book and hand me this one. 

22. The travellers accosted he and I. 

23. Who did they send for provisions? 

24. They disapproved the design proposed. 

25. It was me who found the treasure. 

26. I knew that person to be he. 

27. Whom do people say the travellers are ? 

28. Some hymns were sang by the peasants. 

29. The travellers have ate the poisoned food. 



64 SYNTHESIS. 

30. They had at that time began their journey. 

31. The traveller who went in quest of provisions should return 
next day. 

32. People were said to encounter strange shapes in the forest. 

33. Will I have the book to-morrow? 

34. It is difficult to frame a rule that some bold genius shall not 
subvert. 

35. Let him to do what he proposes. 

36. Allow him do as he pleases. 

37« Bid him to go in quest of provisions. 

38. Was he to remain longer, he would be too late. 

39. Fame comes unlooked for if it comes at all. 

40. Do thou know me ? 

41. Does the travellers depart immediately? 

42. Not one of the travellers were seen after. 

43. The traveller or his companion go in quest of provisions. 

44. Neither the traveller nor his companion have returned. 

45. He and the traveller finds a treasure. 

46. Doubt and uncertainty hangs over their fate. 

47. Appearance and reality, when united, constitutes truth. 

48. I, a priest of Isis, who now addresses you. 

49. Thou who think so are certainly wrong. 

50. He who has a head of his own need not borrow one. 

51. That which glitterest is not always gold. 

52. Why did the travellers so act ? 

53. The weather both was rough and stormy. 

54. It is difficult always to be correct. 

55. The traveller who departed did not conceive no such design. 

56. Neither traveller nor treasure was never heard of more. 

57. They merit their fate for their avarice. 

58. The philosopher was astonished by their cupidity. 

59. Who did you speak to just now ? 

60. I am sure it was we they were staring at. 

61. They were speaking of either he or I. 

62. These are the travellers who the repast was prepared for. 

63. Who did the treasure belong to. 

64. Some remarks were made against you and he. 

65. Our opinion of you and they is not favourable. 

66. Between you and I, this matter is fraught with danger. 

67. His fame was such as his name was in every mouth. 

68. There is no one as amiable, as generous, as beloved, as he. 

69. He has travelled further than me. 

70. I shall come so soon as possible. 

71. We doubt if you will come at all. 

72 Did the travellers send you and they in quest of provisions ? 

73. If he recover and survives many will rejoice. 

74. We do not estimate the Egyptians very highly, but we owed 
them much. 



THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



LESSON FIFTH. 



READING. 

[ The following is a corrected version of the Exercise given in 
the Fourth Lesson.] 

1. Fear is the anticipation of evil. 2. The traveller was 
awarded a title and an estate. 3. Riches are the source of 
many evils. 4. The travellers lived in the ages we usually 
call dark. 5. Our universities do not generally promote the 
studies of geology and chemistry. 6. Geography and astro- 
nomy make equal strides. 7. Euclid produced a model of 
clear demonstration. 8. They spoke of the traveller's having 
found a treasure. 9. I heard of the treasure's being lost. 
10. We knew of your going. 11. There was an indomitable 
wildness in the scene. 12. Volcanoes are rare displays of 
supernatural power. 13. Your committee would strongly 
and affectionately urge. 14. Results recurring frequently are 
often disregarded. 15. If the old almanac system and its 
' Francis Moore ' are to be discarded, something else must be 
found for us in their place. 16. The Jews under the 
Ptolemies were far from being a persecuted race ; on the 
contrary,, they enjoyed extensive privileges. 17. Csesar tells 
us of three indigenous languages in Gaul, and we find traces 
of them at the present day. 18. The traveller beheld the 
obelisk of Osirtesen, which was 60 feet high. 19. A pardon 
was obtained from the king, who happened to be present, for 
an old helmet. 20. Egypt had colleges of priests and pro- 
phets, and these were part and parcel of the church establish- 
ment. 21. Take this book and hand me that one. 22. The 
travellers accosted him and me. 23. Whom did they send 
for provisions ? 24. They disapproved of the design proposed. 
25. It was I who found the treasure. 26. I knew that person 
to be him. 27. Who do people say the travellers are ? 
28. Some hymns were sung by the peasants. 29. The tra- 
vellers have eaten the poisoned food. 30. They had at that 
time begun their journey. 31. The traveller who went in 
quest of provisions should have returned next day. 32. People 
were said to have encountered strange shapes in the forest. 
33. Shall I have the book to-morrow ? 34. It is difficult to 
frame a rule that some bold genius will not subvert. 35. Let 
him do what he proposes. 36. Allow him to do as he pleases. 

F 



66 PRONUNCIATION. 

37. Bid him go in quest of provisions. 38. Were he to 
remain longer, he would be too late. 39. Fame comes un- 
looked for, if it come at all. 40. Dost thou know me ? 41. 
Do the travellers depart immediately ? 42. Not one of the 
travellers was ever seen after. 43. The traveller or his com- 
panion goes in quest of provisions. 44. Neither the traveller 
nor his companion has returned. 45. He and the traveller 
find a treasure. 46. Doubt and uncertainty hang over their 
fate. 47. Appearance and reality, when united, constitute 
truth. 48. I, a priest of Isis, who now address you. 49. 
Thou who thinkest so art certainly wrong. 50. He who has 
ahead of his own needs not borrow one. 51. That which 
glitters is not always gold. 52. Why did the travellers act 
so ? 53. The weather was both rough and stormy. 54. It is 
difficult to be always correct. 55. The traveller who departed 
did not conceive any such design. 56. Neither traveller nor 
treasure was ever heard of more. 57. They merit their 
fate on account of their avarice. 58 The philosopher was 
astonished at their cupidity. 59. Whom did you speak to just 
now? 60. I am sure it was us the people were staring at. 
61. They were speaking of either him or me. 62. These are 
the travellers for whom the repast was prepared. 63. To 
whom did the treasure belong? 64. Some remarks were 
made against you and him. 65. Our opinion of you and 
them is not favourable. 66. Between you and me, this 
matter is fraught with danger. 67. His fame was such that 
his name was in every mouth. 68. There is no one so amiable, 
so generous, and so beloved, as he. 69. He has travelled 
further than I. 70. I shall come as soon as possible. 71. 
We doubt whether you will come at all. 72. Did the tra- 
vellers send you and them in quest of provisions ? 73. If he 
recover and survive many will rejoice. 74. We do not 
estimate the Egyptians very highly, but we owe them much. 

PRONUNCIATION'. 

VOWELS. 

In the first lesson we pointed out the vowel sounds used in 
English; we have now to show when, and under what cir- 
cumstances, a particular vowel has one, and when another of 
these sounds. 

We have seen that there are in all eighteen vowel sounds 
in the language ; there are only five signs or letters to repre- 
sent these eighteen sounds, a, e, i, o, arid u. Each of these 
letters is not confined to a certain determinate number of the 
sounds, but sometimes represents one and sometimes another 
with the greatest degree of apparent irregularity, and it is 



PRONUNCIATION. 67 

this singular property of the English vowels that renders the 
acquisition of a correct pronunciation of the language so 
difficult. 

It is, however, a popular error to suppose that there are 
no rules for English pronunciation ; we have already said 
that common consent determines the pronunciation of the 
words, but common consent only determines directly the pro- 
nunciation of the majority, the pronunciation of the minority 
it determines indirectly by analogy, and this analogy consti- 
tutes the rules, by which common consent itself must submit 
to be judged ; besides, in cases where usage is doubtful, or 
when a new word is added to our vocabulary, it is not com- 
mon consent that is consulted, but the rules or principles 
recognised by that authority. 

It is almost unnecessary to insist upon the importance of a 
correct pronunciation; in some professions, as the bar and 
the stage, it is indispensable, and in most others it is more or 
less advantageous. Cobbett, in his English Grammar, says 
that, " though the Scotch say come, the Londoners cawn, and 
the Hampshire folks cam, we all know they mean corn;" 
and concludes, therefore, that pronunciation is a matter of 
'very little real importance.' Now Cobbett might as well 
have argued that when we hear, { ain't you a goin?' and 
understand it to mean f are you not going ? ' English grammar 
is unnecessary. It appears to us that a barbarism of the one 
kind is quite as much to be deprecated as a barbarism of the 
other. 

There are two classes of error in pronunciation which the 
learner should endeavour to avoid, that of giving a wrong 
enunciation to a sound, and that of giving a variety of enun- 
ciations to the same sound ; the first error is peculiar to the 
natives of London, the second has a wider range. The fifth 
vowel in the table, lesson first, that of a in traveller, occurs in 
the words tax, wax, axe. These words are pronounced by the 
Londoner, as if written tex, wex, ex ; this pronunciation does 
not give exactly the vowel sound of these words which is 
recognised by polite usage; but the Londoner is consistent in 
the error ; he almost invariably gives this particular enuncia- 
tion to that particular sound. Not so the inhabitants of other 
localities; the Scotch, for example, pronounce the words 
named, as if written tahx, wawx, aix ; thus not giving one 
only, but three distinct varieties of intonation to the same 
sound. 

In pointing out the proper sounds of each vowel, it will be 
necessary to make use of some kind of orthoepical mark, and 
in order not to perplex the learner with a variety of systems 

f2 



68 



PRONUNCIATION. 



of this description, we shall adopt that prefixed to the original 
edition of Walker's Pronouncing Dictionary, which is in 
every respect well suited for the purpose. It is not, however, 
our intention to follow Walker's pronunciation ; many of the 
irregularities sanctioned by the polite usage of his day, as 
ke-arriage, for carriage ; ke-ind, for kind ; ke-ard, for card ; 
front-cheer, for frontier, having happily fallen into desuetude. 
The following is Walker's method of exhibiting the vowel 
sounds, together with a reference to the group of words 
illustrating each sound, given under the head l Pronuncia- 
tion,' in our first lesson. 







Number of sound in Table, 




- Walker s Maries.* 




Lesson First. 


1. 


First sound of a, as 


in fate, a. . 


. . 7 and 8. 


2. 


Second sound of a, , 


J! 2 

, far, a 


. . 9. 


3. 


Third sound of a, 


, ball, a . 


. . 10. 


4. 


Fourth sound of a, 


, fat i. . 


. . 6. 


5. 


First sound of e, 


, me, e . 


. . 4. 


6. 


Second sound of e, , 


, met, I 


. . 5. 


7. 


First sound of i, 


, fire, i 


. . 2. 


8. 


Second sound of i, 


, pin, l 


. . 1. 


9. 


First sound of o, 


„ no, 6 


. . 12. 


10. 


Second sound of o, 


, move, o . 


. .15. 


11. 


Third sound of o, 


, nor, o 


. . 10. 


12. 


Fourth sound of o, 


„ not, 3 


. . 11. 


13. 


First sound of u, 


,, tube, u 


. . 17. 


14. 


Second sound of u, 


„ tub, u 


. . . 13 and 14. 


15. 


Third sound of u, 


„ bull, u 


. . .15 and 16. 


16. 


The sound of ou, 


„ out, ou 


. . 8. 


17. 


The sound of oi, 


, oil, oi 


. . 3. 



It will be observed that Walker indicates the sound of a in 
fat by a sign thus, &, and throughout the course of the fol- 
lowing observations this sound will be represented in the 
same manner, and as in this, so in the case of the other sounds. 
For facility of classification, the sounds, as exhibited in the 
foregoing table, may be further distinguished by the terms 
open and shut, thus : 

Open. Shut. 

1. a, as in fate. 1. a, as in fat. 



2. 


t 


j» 


far. 


3. 


3 

a, 


>> 


ball. 


4. 


e> 


?) 


me. 


5. 


i, 


>> 


fire. 


6. 


o, 


» 


no. 


7. 


6, 


» 


move 


8. 


o, 




nor. 


9. 


A, 


55 


tube. 



2. e, 
3.1, 

4. 6, 

5. u, 

6. u, 



met. 
pin. 
not. 
tub. 
bull. 



* Smart and other modern editors of Walker's Dictionary use marks, 
thus, — w instead of figures, to distinguish the sounds. We do not see 
any particular advantage to be derived from this modification, and have 
consequently preferred Walker's own annotation, in which figures alone 
are introduced. 



PRONUNCIATION. 69 

A vowel may be defined as a simple unobstructed utter- 
ance, or as a sound that does not cease from the beginning to 
the end of a single impulse of the voice. When a sound is 
uttered curtly, it is said to be short ; when the voice dwells 
upon it, it is said to be long ; the sound of e, in the word 
met, if prolonged, would make that word rhyme exactly with 
the French word fete, or resemble e in the Scotch pronun- 
ciation of the word well; but this long sound of I is not used 
in English. We mean by the terms, short and long, either a 
protraction or prolongation of the same sound, and we men- 
tion this more particularly, as orthoepists sometimes use these 
terms to signify one thing and sometimes another. 

When two letters are employed to represent a simple 
sound, as ie in grief, oa in coal, ea in treasure, the combina- 
tion is termed a digraph. Some orthoepists consider such 
sounds as ew in few, oi in oil, as compound sounds, and call 
them diphthongs ; others consider the i of fire, and the a of 
fate, to be sounds of this kind. When two vowels are used 
to represent a simple, or a union of two simple sounds (which 
we think means as nearly as possible the same thing), the 
combination belongs to one syllable, as treasure, feu-dal ; 
but when two letters occur in a word, each of which has a 
distinct sound, they separate, and belong to distinct syllables, 
as in cre-ate, co-alesce. It would be a better arrangement to 
class the combined vowels representing simple sounds, as 
well as those representing what are called combined sounds, 
under the general term digraph, and confine the term 
diphthong to such combinations as in create, coalesce. 

GENERAL RULES. 

[ The learner will bear in mind that the numbered letters indicate the 
sounds, as shown in the annexed table ; thus u signifies the sound 
of \x in tub, which is the fourteenth of the table], 

I. When a single vowel ends an accented syllable, or when a 
vowel is followed by a single consonant and an e mute, it has the 
first open sound ; as in fa'-tal, fate, e-vil, eve, li-bel, spite-ful, spy, 
mo-tive, mote, tu-nic, tune. 

Exceptions — Fa'-ther, ra-ther, br&'-vo, gape, bade, have, wa-ter, give, 
live, g#ne, tr6de, sure, were, there (thafe), ere (are), where (whare), move, 
prove, do, who, lose, maritime, jacobine, med'icine, discipline, mas'culine, 
jes'samine, fem'inine, heroine, nec'tarine, lib'ertine, genuine, palatine, 
cu'curbite, in'genite, in'finite, definite, hypocrite, favourite, exquisite, 
opposite, ap'posite, per'quisite, requisite. 

In the following words, which are chiefly derived from the French, i has 
the sound of e — machine', antique', critique', pique, chagrin', fatigue', 
caprice', pal'anquin", routine', intrigue', invalid' (noun), marine', police', 
suite (sweet), tontine', frize, fascine', tambourine', man'darin", pronounced 
as if written mashene', anteke', criteke'. In the following, o has the sound 
of u — love, glove, dove, above, shove, done, one, none, come, some. 



70 PRONUNCIATION. 

This rule is frequently violated by the Londoner, who perversely 
gives the sound of o to u, pronouncing toon, sioopid, constitoot, for 
tune, stupid, consti-tute. It is scarcely necessary to dwell upon 
such palpable errors. 

II. When e, o, or u ends an unaccented syllable, it has its first 
open sound, but protracted, that is, pronounced somewhat rapidly ; 
as in e-mo'-tion, no-bil'-ity, u-nite'. 

III. When a ends an unaccented syllable, the sound varies with 
the position of the syllable ; when the syllable is not final, a has the 
short sound a; as in tra-duce', tra-verse': but, when the syllable is 
final, it has the open sound a ; as in i-de'-a. 

IV. When i or y ends an unaccented syllable, it has the shut 
sound i ; as in di-vine', hor'-ri-ble, dit'-ty. 

Exceptions — Ci-ba'rious, ci-lic'ious, ci-ta'tion, dl-rep'tion, di-rup'tion, 
mi-crom'eter, mi-gra'tion, pi-rat'ical, ri-val'ity, rhi-noc'eros, vi-ca'rious, 
vi-bra'tion, vi-tal'ity, vl-vific, vi-vip'arous. 

V. When a single vowel is followed by a consonant in the same 
syllable, it has a shut sound ; as in c&t'-tle, met'-al, grin, hymn, f6f-ly, 
cub, un-shod', in-can-des'-cence, c6n-nect'. 

Exceptions — Many (men'-y), any (en'-y), bath, path, lath, Isle, island, 
viscount (s, in the three last words, is silent), climb (b silent), indict (c silent), 
pint, pretty (pntty), England (ingland), clerk (dark), both, comb (b silent),, 
gross, woman (wum-an), wolf (wulf), bosom (bus-om), whom, tomb, womb 
(6 silent in the last two words), sugar (s like sh), impugn, bury (ber-ry), 
busy (blz-zy). In the following words, o has the shut sound of u — 
among, amongst, affront, front, brother, mother, smother, pother, other, 
hover, cover, plover, doth, son, sponge, allonge, honey, money, coney, 
Monday, stomach, mongrel, monk, monkey, month, nothing, oven, onion, 
pommel, covert, conjure, cozen, covet, covenant, conduit, colour, comfit,, 
comfort, compass, company, combat, comrade, borough, bomb, bombard, 
sloven, shovel, ton, tongue, sovereign, wont, once, wonder, comfrey, rhomb, 
colander, pronounced amung, frunt, etc. 

VI. All the vowels have the sound of u when followed by r in 
an unaccented termination ; as collar, differ, elix'ir, satyr, author, 
sulphur, pronounced collur, diffur, elixur, satur, authur, sulphur. 
But when a, % or e precedes any other consonant, the vowel has its 
regular sound ; as in petal, valid, solemn. 

Care must be taken not to give the vowels indiscriminately 
the irregular sound. Careless speakers slur all the unaccented 
vowels, pronouncing capable, del'egate, visible, correct' , as if 
written capable, delugate, visuble, currect, and sometimes 
viable, tfr-rect. If the learner has acquired this inelegant 
habit, he should endeavour to correct it, even at the risk of 
being thought pedantic : it is this fault that generally causes 
indecision in pronunciation, and is the source of much of that 
indistinctness so often observed when an unpractised speaker 
addresses a large assembly. In speaking with deliberation, 
it is necessary to give every unaccented syllable its specific 
sound; and the degree of accuracy attained in this respect 
distinguishes the cultivated from the conventional speaker. 



7i 

PARTICULAR RULES. 

VII. A succeeded by nge, ste, gue, has its first open sound ; as in 
range, chaste, plague ; it also has this sound in the words danger, 
manger, angel, ancient ; pronounced dain-jer, main-jer, ain-jel, ain- 
shyent. 

VIII. When a, by the. first general rule, has the sound a, this 
sound is shortened before the letter r ; as in dare, fare, com-pare, 
Ma-ry ; except the word are, pronounced ar. 

None of our orthoepists have noticed the difference between the 
sound of a in fate and a in fare ; yet, if the two words were pro- 
nounced in precisely the same manner, a correct ear would at once 
detect a certain degree of uncouthness in the pronunciation of either 
word. Good speakers invariably make a distinction between the 
two sounds, whilst the Scotch and Irish pronounce the first syllables 
of da-ring and Ma-ry to rhyme with day and May. The sound of a 
in fare, and generally before r, approximates somewhat to the French 
e in fete, which is not the case with a in fate when that word is pro- 
perly pronounced. 

IX. A has the open sound a when followed in the same syllable 
by r, If Im (except qualm), Iv; as in card, calf, calm, calve: but 
when r is followed in the next syllable by a vowel or another r, a 
has the short sound a ; as in par-a-dise, c&r-ry. 

X. A has the open sound a when followed in the same syllable 
by 11, Id, Ik, It, also when followed by r, and preceded by w or qu ; 
as in call, bald, balk, halt, war, quart (the word shall only excepted). 
But when r is followed in the next syllable by a vowel or another r, 
a has the shut sound & ; as in quar'-antine (quSr), war-rant (wSr-rant). 

XI. A has the shut sound 3 when preceded by iv or qu and 
followed by any other consonant than k, g, ng, x (ks), or /; as in 
swab (sw6b), wal-low (w&l-low), quash (qu6sh), quantity (quon-tity). 

XII. Aa. This combination, representing a simple sound, occurs 
only in Scripture proper names, and is pronounced as a alone would 
be in the same position ; as Aaron, Canaan, Isaac, Balaam, pro- 
nounced a-ron, Ca'-nan, I'-sac, Ba'lam, and in the word baa, pro- 
nounced ba. 

XIII. M is found chiefly in Latin words, and is pronounced like 
e in a similar position ; as Caesar, Daedalus, Michaelmas, pronounced 
Ce-sar, Did-alus, Michel-mas. 

XIV. Ai and ay are the same, except that ay is always found at 
the end of a word. Under the accent these combinations have the 
sound of a ; as in de-tail', de-lay'. Unaccented they have the shut 
sound of i; as in Captain, Monday, pronounced Capdn, Mondi. Ai 
before r is shortened, as stated Rule VIII.; as in fair, dairy. 

Exceptions — Plaid and raillery are pronounced plad, rallery ; said, again, 
against — sed, agen, agenst ; aisle like isle (s silent) ; and quay — ke. 

XV. Au, aw. These combinations generally represent the third 
sound of a; as in daub, law, pronounced dab, la. 

Exceptions — Cauliflower, laudanum, sausage, and guage, pronounced 
c&iflower, l6danum, sasage, and gage. 



72 PRONUNCIATION. 

XVI. Au, followed by n and another consonant, has the sound a; 
as in aunt, haunted, gauntlet, pronounced ant, hanted, gantlet ; as 
also in draught, laugh, and their compounds, pronounced draft, laf. 

XVII. E is silent at the end of words, as in battle, sale ; but is 
pronounced when the final letter of Latin and Greek words, as in 
recipe, epitome ; as also when the only vowel of an English mono- 
syllable, as in he, she. 

XVIII. The termination re, preceded by a consonant, is pro- 
nounced ur, as in massacre (massacur). 

XIX. E is silent in the termination en when preceded by any 
other consonant than Z, m, n, or r, as wooden, heaven, pronounced 
wood'n, heav'n ; and in the past tenses and participles of verbs, 
except when e is preceded by d or t, as blamed, scanned, pronounced 
blam'd, scann'd. 

E is also silent in the words shrivel, swivel, snivel, drivel, grovel, 
pronounced shrivle, swivle, snivle, drivle, grovle. 

Exceptions — The e is heard in the last syllable of sudden, kitchen, hyphen, 
chicken, aspen, platen, marten, latten, leaven, sloven, mittens. 

This rule is very often violated. Careless speakers, in an endea- 
vour to speak distinctly, sound the e in such words as seven, golden, 
and omit it, especially in words ending in el, as chapel, gospel, parcel, 
vessel, jewel, novel, in which e ought to be distinctly heard. 

XX. E is silent in the unaccented terminations eon and ean ; as 
in su'rgeon, o'-cean, pronounced sur'-jun, o'-shun. 

XXI. E, followed by r, has generally the sound of u prolonged ; 
as in herd, pronounced hurd ; but when r is followed in the next 
syllable by a vowel or another r, e has its regular shut sound ; as in 
her'-i-tage, mer'-ry. 

XXII. Ea is generally pronounced like e ; as in repeal, repeat, 
heal, heat. 

XXIII. Ea has the first sound of a in great, break, steak, pro- 
nounced grate, brake, stake. 

XXIV. Ea has the protracted sound of a in the words pair, wear, 
swear, tear. 

XXV. Ea has the second open sound of a in the words heart, 
hearth, and their compounds, pronounced hart, harth. 

XXVI. Ea has the sound of u in learn, earn, yearn, earl, pearl, 
early, dearth, earth, search, hearse, rehearse, heard. 

XXVII. Ea has the shut sound e in unaccented terminations, 
and in the following words and their compounds — head, stead, 
breast, read (past tense), ready, spread, bread, breath, death, break- 
fast, dead, deaf, cleanse, endeavour, feather, heaven, health, wealth, 
heavy, lead (metal), leather, peasant, pheasant, pleasant, pleasure, 
treasure, realm, stealth, jealous, sweat, threat, tread, thread, treachery, 
weapon, weather, zealot, zealous. 

XXVIII. Eau in beauty has the first sound of u\ thus,.buty, this 
combination is generally found in French words, and it follows the 



PRONUNCIATION. 73 

pronunciation of that language ; as beaux, bureau, pronounced bo, 
bu'-ro. 

XXIX. In the unaccented terminations eous and ious, the e and 
the i are generally heard, but the o is dropped ; as in courageous, 
insidious, pronounced cur-ra-ge-us, in-sid'-e-us. 

Careless speakers are apt to drop the e or i sound, as well as 
that of the o, and to pronounce such words as if written cur-ra'-jus, 
in-si'-dus. 

Walker converts the d and t, immediately preceding this termina- 
tion, into j and tch, as hideous and piteous, he pronounces hijeous 
and pitcheous. This practice of softening the consonants d and t, 
before eous and tons, though much followed, is not by any means 
general. 

XXX. Ee has invariably the sound e; as in green, meet. 

XXXI. Ely when under the accent, has the sound of e, as in 
receive', conceive' ; when unaccented, ei has the sound of I, as in 
surfeit, forfeit, pronounced surfet, forfet. 

Exceptions — Ei has the sound of 1 in height, sleight; in the following 
words ei has the sound of a — deign, feign, reign, weigh, neigh, neighbour, 
inveigh, eight, freight, weight, feint, skein, reins, rein, vein, veil, heinous ; 
in the following ei being followed by r has the protracted sound of a — their, 
theirs, heir, heiress. 

XXXII. Ey when under the accent has the sound of a, as in grey', 
purvey'; when unaccented ey has the shut sound of i, as in pulley, 
money, pronounced pully, mony. 

Exceptions — The word eye is pronounced i, the words key and ley, as if 
written kee and lee. Friend and tierce have the shut sound of e, frend, 
terce. 

XXXIII. Eo in the following words has the sound of e; in the 
same position, as peo'-ple, leop'-ard, jeop'-ardy, feoff, pronounced 
pe-ple, lep'-ard, jep'-ardy, fef. The e is dropped in the word yeoman, 
pronounced yo'-man. The words Geoffrey, feod, etc. are now writ- 
ten as they are pronounced, Jeffrey, feud. It should be borne in 
mind that eo generally separates into distinct syllables, as in neology, 
geometry, pronounced ne-ol'-o-ge, ge-om'-e-tre. 

XXXIV. Eu and ew have the sound of u; as in feud, few. 
After r or j these combinations have the second of o prolonged ; as 
in crew, Jew, rheum (h silent). 

Exceptions — Ew in sew is pronounced 6. The words strew, shew, etc., 
are now written as they are pronounced, strow, show, etc. 

XXXV. / has its first open sound when followed in the same 
syllable by nd, ld> gn, or gh ; as in mind, mild, sign, high. 

Exceptions — Wind, gild, guild (u silent), build (u silent), abscind, 
rescind, descind. 

XXXVI. / has likewise its first open sound, when alone and un- 
accented, as in l-de'-a ; when followed by a vowel, as in di-ur'-nal ; 
and when final preceded by 6, ch, er, I, pr, or tr, as in bl-den'-tal, 
chl-rur'-geon, cri-te'-rion, l»-ba'-tion, pri-me'-val, cli-mac'-ter, trl- 
bu'-nal. 



74 PRONUNCIATION. 

Exceptions — I-mag-ine (e-mad-jin) and its compounds, li-tig'-ious (le-tig- 
yus, li-bid'-i-nous (le-bid-e-nus), hy-poc'-ri-sy (he-p6c-re-sy). 

XXXVII. When the accent of a word is on the penultimate, i 
in the last syllable followed by a single consonant and an e mute, 
has its shut sound ; as in res'-plte, pro-jec'-tile, ada-man'-tine. 

Exceptions — Ex'-ile, se'-nile, e'-dile, em'-pire, um'-pire, ram'-pire, fi'-nite, 
fe'-line, fe'-rine, con'-fine, su'-pine, ar'-chives, con'-trlte, sex'-tile, gen'-tlle, 
cri'-nite, Ar'-glve (g hard), Sam'-nite, Hi'-vite. 

When the accent is on the antepenultimate, i in the last syllable 
followed by a consonant and an e mute, has its first open sound in 
accordance with the first general rule; as in chamomile, serpentine, 
appetite. Words accented on this syllable have in consequence a 
secondary accent on the last. Walker, by not considering that the 
power of the secondary nearly equals that of the first in determining 
the vowel sounds, has supposed the open sound of i in a few words 
terminating in He, accented on the antepenultimate, to be irregular, 
because i is generally shut in this termination; but almost all words 
accented on the penult have the shut sound of i, whilst those 
accented on the antepenult have the open i sound. The * in the 
last syllable of mercantile, juvenile, etc., which he has marked 1 
ought therefore to be pronounced i in obedience to the general rule. 

XXXVIII. When the accent is on the antepenultimate, i in the 
last syllable, followed by v or c, and an e mute, has its shut sound ; 
as in ad'jec-tive, rel'-a-tive, prej'-u-dice, ed-i-f ice : except cockatrice, 
sacrifice. 

XXXIX. Y unaccented, at the end of words has the shut sound 
of i, as in identity ; except in the termination fy, in which y has 
the sound of i, as in qualify, satisfy ; as also in the words multiply, 
occupy, prophesy. 

XL. / followed in the same syllable by r, has like e the sound 
of u prolonged, as in bird (burd), virgin (vurgin); except when r is 
final or when followed in the next syllable by a vowel or another r, 
in which case i has its regular shut sound, as in vir-ulence, squir-rel. 

Exceptions — In the words girl, skirt, girt, gird, the i is generally pro- 
nounced like e. 

Some orthoepists have affected to waive the foregoing rule. Properly 
both e and i before r should have their regular sounds, but we hear none 
but foreigners pronounce them so: were an Englishman to pronounce mercy, 
or first, without introducing the irregular sound, he would in all probability 
be regarded either as ignorant or affected. A few speakers compromise the 
matter by using an intermediate sound, but this only increases the evil, for 
without removing the existing anomaly it adds one more irregularity to the 
prosody of the language. 

XLI. /is dropped in the unaccented terminations, Hon, sion, and 
clous; as in attention, pension, conscious, pronounced atten-shun, 
pen-shun, con-shus. 

As in the case of other unaccented terminations, care should be taken 
not to drop the vowel sound altogether ; it is a very common but a very 
vulgar error to pronounce such words, as emotion, portion, as if they were 
written emoshn, poshn, or emoshen, poshin, the pronunciation emo-shun, 
po-shun, though in itself irregular, is that given the words by polite usage, 
and consequently must be adhered to. 



PRONUNCIATION. 75 

XLII. / when followed by another vowel in an unaccented 
syllable, generally has the sound of the consonant «/, as in fil'ial, 
conci'liate, pronounced fil'-yal, c6n-cil -yate. But when preceded by 
r, the i is heard distinctly, as in 6'-r!-ent. 

XLIII. Ie is pronounced like e, as in grief; but when ie is final, 
i only is pronounced, in accordance with Rule XVII, as in die, lie. 

XLIV. leu and iew have the sound of u, as in adieu, view, 
pronounced adu, vu. 

XLV. / is silent in the words cousin, evil, devil, pronounced 
cous'n, ev'l, dev'l. 

XL VI. followed in the same syllable by ll, st f Id, It, Ik, has 
its first open sound ; as in roll, post, cold, bolt, folk. 

Exceptions — L6st, c6st, ddll, frdst, dost (dust). 

XL VII. followed in the same syllable by r, has its third open 
sound, as in for, cord, for-tune; but when r is followed in the next 
syllable by a vowel or another r, o has its short sound, as in <Jr-a-cle, 
sflr-ry. 

Exceptions — Borne, corse, horde, force, forge, fort, ford, sword, sworn, 
torn, port (and all words in which the word port occurs, as porter, im-port), 
worsted (wursted). 

There is a tendency especially amongst the Londoners to give o in all 
positions the open sound of a, pronouncing the words moth, froth, frost, as 
if written mawth, frawth, frawst; they have corrupted the pronunciation of 
poor, into pore, which last they will eventually, very likely, convert into 
pawr. 

XLVIII. O is silent in the termination on when preceded by a 
hard consonant, as p, t, d, or by c or s; as capon, pardon, mutton, 
bacon, reckon, poison, pronounced cap'n, pard'n, mutt'n, bac'n, 
reck'n, pois'n ; except when x or n precedes t, in which case o is 
heard distinctly, as in wanton, sexton. 

Care should be taken not to drop the o, except under the circumstances 
stated, the o of this termination has in accordance with Rule VI. the sound 
of u; as in meth-od, king-dom, sec-ond, pronounced methud, king-dum, 
sec-und. 

XLIX. Oa has the open sound of °, as in boat, coat, pronounced 
bote, cote ; except in the words groat, broad, pronounced grit, brad. 

L. Oi and oy, except in French words, have always the open 
sound heard in oil, boil, boy. 

LL Oo has the open sound of o in move or u in rude ; as in moon, 
soon, food. 

Oo has the shut sound of u in bull in the following words — wool, 
wood, good, hood, stood, look, crook, hook, brook, took, book, 
cook, soot, foot. Oo has the open sound of o in the words door, 
floor, pronounced dore, fl6re. Oo has the sound of u, in blood, flood, 
pronounced blud, flud. 

LIT. Ou and ow, these are perhaps the most irregular combina- 
tions in the language, their primary sound is that heard in the words 
out, found, proud, and how, now, frown. But the following excep- 
tions to this rule will have to be committed to memory. 



76 PRONUNCIATION. 

1. Ow, when in a final unaccented syllable, has the sound of 6, as in 
follow, pronounced fol'-lo; and it has the same sound in the following 
words : blow, flow, slow, glow, grow, crow, mow (verb), strow, throw, row, 
low (adjective), below, owe, own, snow, know, sow (verb), bow (to shoot 
with), show, stow, bestow, and their compounds. 

2. Ow has the sound of 6 in knowledge, pronounced n6l-ledge. 

3. Ou, when in an unaccented syllable, has the shut sound u; as in 
so'-journ, fa'-mous, pronounced so'-jurn, fa-mus. Ou has also this sound 
in the following words : journey, journal, adjourn, country, cousin, couple, 
double, trouble, courage, joust, flourish, nourish, touch, young, rough, 
tough, chough (gh has the sound of / in the last three words), southern, 
southerly, mounch, scourge, and their compounds.. 

4. Ou has the sound of oo in moon, and of o in move, in the following 
words, chiefly derived from the French : rouge, bouge, group, croup, 
amour, bouse, gout, ragout, surtout (t is silent in the last three words,) 
soup, tour, contour, tournay, tournament, route, wound (noun), through, 
uncouth, you, yours, youth. 

5. Ou has the sound 6 in the following words ; though, dough (gh silent), 
court, gourd, course, discourse, source, bourne, soul, mourn, four, pour, 
mould, shoulder, smoulder, moult, poult, poultice, poultry, and their 
compounds. 

6. Ou has the open sound of 6, or of the word awe, in the following 
words : ought, bought, brought, sought, fought, nought, thought, wrought. 

7. Ou has the shut sound 6, in cough (c6f), trough (trSf), lough (16k), 
shough (shok), hough (h6k). 

8. Ou has the shut sound u, or of oo in good, in the words, could, should, 
and would. 

LIU. C/is silent after g or q in a final syllable ; as rogue, antique, 
pronounced rog, antek. U is also silent in the words, guard, and 
its compounds, guarantee, guess, guest, guerdon, guilt, guide, guise, 
guile, guild, build, buy, biscuit, conduit, circuit, guinea, guitar'; u 
is employed in these words chiefly to preserve g hard before e and i. 

L1V. U has the open sound of o, or of oo, in the word moon, 
when preceded by r or j 9 as in rude, June. 

LV. U has the shut sound u , or of oo in good, in the following 
words : bull, pull, full, bullock, bullet, bully, bulwark, pulley, pul- 
let, pulpit, pudding, put (to place), fuller, bush, push, bushel, butcher, 
cuckoo, sugar, hussar. 

LVI. U when followed by another vowel and preceded by g, ng, 
or s, in the same syllable, acquires the sound of the consonant w ; 
as in quart, languid, assuage, consuetude, pronounced qwart, lan- 
gwid, asswage', con'swetude. 

Monosyllables of frequent occurrence when subordinate in a sen- 
tence are often, especially in familiar discourse, pronounced with 
the word that follows. The numerals two, three, four, five, when 
associated with the word pence, are very generally contracted into 
tup-ence, thrup-ence, etc.; the vowels of the auxiliaries am, had, shall, 
are usually much shortened; in the sentence 'the story that that 
man told me,' the vowel of the first that is scarcely heard, whilst the 
second being under the accent has the vowel sound fully enunciated. 
The article a is pronounced a when emphatic, but a when merely 
the adjunct of a noun: the article the is pronounced tha before a 



COMPOSITION. 77 

consonant, but when followed by a vowel the e sound is entirely 
suppressed ; the words your, for, them, was, are very commonly 
pronounced as if written yur, fur, thum, wiiz; and the pronouns my, 
by, unless emphatic, are almost invariably pronounced ml, bi. 

These irregularities being recognised by common usage are to a 
certain extent admissible ; but in deliberate speaking, or when the 
stress of the voice falls upon any of the words, their vowel sounds 
obey the general laws. 

As a general principle, the pronunciation of every word, 
unless outlawed by custom, is subject to some law of analogy, 
and we have endeavoured, in the foregoing summary, to 
exhibit the tendencies of polite usage in the pronunciation of 
the vowels. It will be advisable for the learner to test the 
rules we have given by a rigid examination of the words 
themselves; a correct pronunciation of the vowels is not to 
be acquired without labour, but a month's diligent analysis of 
this kind will effect wonders. 

Next lesson the rules to be observed in the pronunciation 
of the consonants will be pointed out. 

COMPOSITION. 

The efforts of the learner at the outset should be chiefly 
directed towards the acquisition of perspicuity. A graceful 
diction and a happy felicity of expression, the attributes of 
style, are the results of practice in writing, accompanied by a 
diligent analytical study of the best writers in the language, 
and are moreover dependent in some measure upon individual 
taste and genius ; but all that is requisite to write correctly is 
a knowledge of the common rules of grammar and an ordinary 
degree of attention. 

The learner should endeavour to avoid ambiguity : when a 
sentence admits of two readings it is impossible to determine 
precisely the writer's meaning. In the following example — 

" Saldanha Bay, the memorable scene of the wholesale capture of the 
Dutch fleet, graphically described by the French traveller La Vaillant." — 
New Monthly. 

It is doubtful whether La Vaillant graphically describes 
' Saldanha Bay,' or the ' wholesale capture of the Dutch 
fleet ;' the sense of the passage is consequently lost. 

It is admissible to omit any words of a sentence that are 
not strictly required by the meaning. In the sentence, ' John, 
engaged in reading, did not observe me/ the words who was 
are understood. The omission of part of a sentence in this 
way is termed ' ellipsis,' and is improper where it impairs the 
sense. 

" Sir Thomas Overbury was shut up in the Tower, and there he was 
poisoned by direction of the Countess of Essex, in a tart." — Goldsmith's 
England. 



78 COMPOSITION. 

This sentence is too elliptical; Sir Thomas might have been 
poisoned in a prison, but certainly not in a tart. Goldsmith 
means that ' poison was administered to Sir Thomas by means 
of a tart.' 

Words are sometimes used in a meaning not strictly literal, 
and an idea is occasionally expressed by a symbol : l Life/ for 
example, may be described as a ' wilderness of thorns.' Well 
chosen figures of this kind give strength and grace to com- 
position, but figurative language requires to be skilfully 
handled ; the transition, in the use of rhetorical figures, from 
the sublime to the ridiculous is very easy. 

" The setting star of day sheds over the horizon a soft light, the dying 
rays it darts into the air are the last sighs that it breathes to the universe" 
— Essays of Frederic the Great. 

In this example of figurative language, the sighs of the sun 
is a vague simile, verging closely on the absurd; besides, the 
particular spot of the earth's surface at which a sunset may 
be observed, is not generally considered to be the f universe.' 
It is advisable for the learner to avoid metaphor of this kind 
by adopting a familiar descriptive style. 

A ludicrous signification is often given to a sentence by an 
improper arrangement of its clauses : — 

" Notice is hereby given, that the Marquis of Camden (on account of the 
backwardness of the harvest) will not shoot himself nor any of his tenants 
till the 14th of September." — Daily Paper. 

In this example the nominative is placed after the predicate 
instead of before it ; when these portions of the sentence are 
transposed the erroneous meaning disappears ; thus, 

"Notice is hereby given, that (on account of the backwardness of the 
harvest) neither the Marquis of Camden himself, nor any of his tenants, will 
shoot till the 14th of September." 

The errors that arise from negligence are infinite. The 
following examples, quoted from Roscoe's Manfred, will 
show how much a subject may be disfigured by hasty or 
careless composition: — 

" Charles's introduction into Italy was by no means so trivial an affair as 
Manfred, perhaps to keep up the hearts of his adherents, affected to make 
it. To say nothing of his stature, that of his intellect and courage was on 
a par with it." 

It is by no means clear whether the stature of ' Charles ' 
or of ' Manfred ' is implied in the foregoing example. ' To 
say nothing ' is a clumsy mode of expressing a measure of 
superiority ; and the l it ' at the end of the second properly 
belongs to the nominative of the first clause of the quotation, 
which makes nonsense of the entire passage; moreover, the 
repetition of ( it ' at the end of sentences is neither elegant 
nor euphonous. 

" Charles bore for his arms the national fleurs-de-lis, gold upon an azure 
ground, surmounted by a red rake in a bloody hand, as if to intimate a 



SYNTHESIS. 79 

perfect preparation for the harvest of death. There was no lack of labourers, 
as is invariably the case, for such a harvest, whose friends, the exiled Guelphs 
of Florence and other Tuscan States, had become masters of Modena and 
Reggio." 

Here Mr. Eoscoe has got hold of one of the metaphors 
spoken of in a preceding section, and, as frequently occurs, 
dwells upon the figure till the effect is materially diminished. 
But to what does the relative whose refer ? Mr. Roscoe pro- 
bably intended to state that the exiled Guelphs were the 
friends of Charles; but he says distinctly enough that the 
Guelphs were friends of ' the harvest of death!' 

" Delighted to learn the news, Count Guido Novello, Manfred's legate 
at Pisa, hastily armed the people to attack the ships and secure the princely 
prize. But the Pisans failing to second on the spur, by closing their gates 
and making other preparations, gave timely notice to the Prince ; whom 
Count Guido, when he issued forth with his troops prepared to board them, 
had the misfortune to see already with sails unfurled, making the best of 
his way." 

In this example, Mr. Eoscoe represents Count Guido as 
' prepared to board ' his own troops, instead of the vessels of 
the enemy. We cannot, however, make out what ' to second 
on the spur ' signifies, nor whether the inhabitants of Pisa 
• shut' or did not ' shut their gates and make other prepara- 
tions/ It is surprising how any respectable writer could allow 
so many inaccuracies as crowd this short passage to escape 
observation. The quotation is by no means a rare instance of 
negligent diction, and is a kind of composition which it must 
be the earnest endeavour of the learner to avoid. 

There are few writers so perfect as not at times to be 
obscure. Cobbett has shown that Dr. Johnson and even 
Mr. Lindley Murray himself have written nonsense occasion- 
ally. This, however, only urges the necessity for increased 
diligence on the part of the learner; for when the recog- 
nised authorities of our language have erred, how much 
more liable the beginner to do so ? Accuracy in composition 
is perfectly practicable, but can only be attained by the utmost 
vigilance. 

SYNTHESIS. 
The cloud which had scattered so deep a murkiness over the 
day had settled into, and was now, a solid impenetrable mass 
(get rid of conjunction and verb to be.) The murkiness resem- 
bled less even the thickest gloom of a night in the open air, than 
the close blind darkness of some close room (get rid of murki- 
ness, and use another adjective for second close.) But in pro- 
portion as the murkiness (use an equivalent expression) gathered, 
the lightnings around Vesuvius increased in their vivid and 
scorching glare (employ did with infinitive). Their horrible 
beauty was not confined to the hues of fire ; a rainbow never 
rivalled their varying and prodigal dies (introduce first clause 
with nor, and second with no.) Now blue as the depth of a 



80 SYNTHESIS. 

southern sky — now green, darting to and fro as the folds of a 
serpent ; now crimson, gushing forth through columns of smoke, 
far and wide, and lighting up the city from arch to arch — then 
dying into paleness, like the ghost of its own life {add attributives 
to words in italics.) In the pauses of the showers, you heard the 
earth rumbling beneath, and the waves of the tortured sea groan- 
ing ; or lower still, and audible but to the watch of intensest fear, 
the murmur of the escaping gases grinding and hissing through 
the chasms of the distant mountain {use the participles in italics 
as nouns or adjectives.) Sometimes the cloud appeared breaking 
from its solid mass, and, by the lightning, assuming quaint and 
vast mimicries of human shapes {convert participles into infinitives). 
These appeared to stride across the gloom, to hurtle upon one 
another, and to vanish swiftly into the turbulent abyss of shade ; 
so that to the eyes and fancies of the affrighted wanderers were 
as the bodily forms of gigantic foes — the angels of terror and 
death {convert infinitives into present participles). 

The ashes in many places were already knee deep; and the 
boiling showers which came from the steaming breath of the vol- 
cano, forcing their way into the houses, bore with them a strong 
and suffocating vapour {use indicative for participle and vice versa). 
In some places, immense fragments of rock were hurled upon the 
house roofs, and bore down along the streets confused masses of 
ruin, obstructing the way yet more and more with every hour {get 
rid of verb to be and conjunction, and convert participle into rela- 
tive with a past tense). As the day continued to advance, the 
motion of the earth was more sensibly felt, — the footing seemed 
to be sliding and creeping, — -nor could chariot or litter be kept 
steady, even on the ground that was most level {abridge sentences 
in italics). 

Sometimes the huger stones struck against each other as they 
fell, and broke into countless fragments {get rid of conjunction). 
They emitted sparks of fire which caught everything that was 
combustible within their reach {use whatever). Several houses 
and even vineyards had been set on flames, which now terribly 
relieved the darkness {reverse the clauses of this sentence, and sub- 
stitute preposition expressing purpose for relative). At various 
intervals the fires rose, glared sullenly and raged fiercely against 
the solid gloom {omit verbs in italics). To add to the partial 
relief of the darkness, the citizens had here and there, in the more 
public places, such as {instance some examples), endeavoured to 
place rows of torches. These rarely continued long, they were 
extinguished by the showers and winds {express in active voice). 
The sudden darkness into which their sudden birth was converted 
had something in it doubly terrible and doubly impressive ; it 
shewed the impotence of human hopes, and was a lesson of despair 
{omit words in italics, and connect the foregoing sentences, from 
the word sometimes, into two only, beginning the second at the 
words to aid, introducing conjunctions, and making the requisite 
alterations in the punctuation). 



THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



LESSON SIXTH. 



READING. 

The Destruction of Pompeii. 

he following corrects the Exercise on Synthesis in prece 
Lesson.] 

The cloud which had scattered so deep a murkiness over the 
day had now settled into a solid impenetrable mass. It 
resembled less even the thickest gloom of a night in the open 
air, than the close and blind darkness of some narrow room. 
But in proportion as the darkness gathered, did the lightnings 
around Vesuvius increase in their vivid and scorching glare. 
Nor was their horrible beauty confined to the usual hues of 
fire; no rainbow ever rivalled their varying and prodigal dies. 
Now brightly blue as the most azure depths of a southern 
sky — now of a livid and snakelike green, darting restlessly to 
and fro as the folds of an enormous serpent; now of a lurid 
and intolerable crimson, gushing forth through the columns 
of smoke, far and wide, and lighting up the whole city from 
arch to arch — then suddenly dying into a sickly paleness like 
the ghost of its own life. In the pauses of the showers you 
heard the rumbling of the earth beneath, and the groaning 
waves of the tortured sea; or lower still, and audible but to 
the watch of intensest fear, the grinding and hissing murmur 
of the escaping gases through the chasms of the distant moun- 
tains. Sometimes the cloud appeared to break from its solid 
mass, and by the lightning to assume quaint and vast mimic- 
ries of human or of monster shapes, striding across the gloom, 
hurtling one upon the other, and vanishing swiftly into the 
turbulent abyss of shade ; so that, to the eyes and fancies of the 
affrighted wanderers, the unsubstantial vapours were as the 
bodily forms of gigantic foes — the agents of terror and death. 
The ashes in many places were already knee deep ; and the 
boiling showers which came from the steaming breath of the 

G 



82 PRONUNCIATION. 

Volcano forced their way into the houses, bearing with them 
a strong and suffocating vapour. In some places, immense 
fragments of rock, hurled upon the house roofs, bore down 
along the streets masses of confused ruin, which yet more and 
more, with every hour, obstructed the way; and, as the day 
advanced, the motion of the earth was more sensibly felt, — 
the footing seemed to slide and creep — nor could chariot or 
litter be kept steady, even on the most level ground. 

Sometimes the huger stones, striking against each other as 
they fell, broke into countless fragments, emitting sparks of 
fire which caught whatever was combustible within their 
reach; and along the plains beyond the city the darkness was 
now terribly relieved; for several houses, and even vineyards, 
had been set on flames; and at various intervals the fires rose 
sullenly and fiercely against the solid gloom. To add to this 
partial relief of the darkness, the citizens had, here and there, 
in the more public places, such as the porticoes of temples, 
and the entrances to the forum, endeavoured to place rows of 
torches; but these rarely continued long; the showers and 
the winds extinguished them, and the sudden darkness into 
which their sudden birth was converted, had something in it 
doubly terrible and doubly impressive on the impotence of 
human hopes. The lesson of despair. — Bulwer. 



PRONUNCIATION. 

CONSONANTS. 

We have seen, under the head Pronunciation, Lesson 
First, that the consonants, like the vowels, sometimes repre- 
sent one and sometimes another sound ; but that the former 
are subject to comparatively little irregularity of this nature. 

In speaking of these letters, there is a class of error which 
requires to be noticed : it comes under no particular rule, 
being rather negative than positive. We allude to the sub- 
stitution of v for w, and vice versa, the adhibition of the letter 
h to a word beginning with a vowel, the omission of that letter 
when it ought to be pronounced, and the conversion of the 
vowel a into the consonant r. 

That these are vulgar errors is true, but that they are not 
confined to the vulgar is equally true. Many speakers, not 
otherwise illiterate, from association or imitation, perhaps un- 
consciously, fall into one or other of these faults ; and, for this 
reason, we think it necessary to bring them under the learner's 
attention, in order they may be corrected if acquired, and, if 
not, that they may be avoided. 



PRONUNCIATION. 83 

Such errors as using k for g; pronouncing the word 
' nothing ' as if written nuthink; or of dropping the g alto- 
gether, and pronouncing such words as ( grouping/ ( coming,' 
' setting,' as if written groupin, comin, settin, are not likely 
to be made by any of our readers. 

The habit of aspirating the vowels is less rare, and requires 
to be guarded against with the utmost watchfulness : such 
negligences as hidleness, hartist, hobese, for ' idleness,' f artist,' 
' obese,' are intolerable to a correct ear. When any symptoms 
of this fault are detected, the learner should repeat aloud a 
number of words beginning with vowels, and continue the 
practice until every vestige of the misapplied aspirate has 
been eradicated. 

Dropping the aspirate where it ought to be pronounced, is 
an error less glaring than the former; but such pronunciations 
as ope, ate, ear, for * hope,' ' hate/ ' hear/ are not less offensive 
to propriety. This fault will be best corrected, as in the case 
of the preceding, by repeating the words beginning with an h 
in most common use, but conjointly with the article a, as 
e a horse/ ' a head/ f a house/ till the voice becomes habituated 
to the correct application of the aspirate. 

Those who have contracted the habit of adding an r to a 
final syllable, pronouncing idear and winder, for ' idea ' and 
6 window/ should endeavour to counteract the practice by a 
constant repetition of words in which the broad sound of a 
occurs, and especially of those ending in aw, as i law/ ' flaw/ 
( straw/ taking care at the same time not to allow the slightest 
vibration to succeed the pure sound of the vowel. 

Sinking the r, or converting it into the sound of aw, is con- 
sidered a beauty by some and a blemish by others. Walker 
seems to think it advisable to pronounce such words as e bard/ 
' card/ ( regard/ as if written cawd, bawd, regawd; but, 
though a feeble enunciation of r, when at the end of a word, 
or when followed by a single consonant, may be admissible, 
still a complete omission of the sound is certainly neither in 
good taste nor warranted by custom. 

Finally, with regard to confounding v and w, it should be 
remembered that such barbarisms as lvalue and vorth are not 
English words, that they belong to no vocabulary, that they 
are employed only to give breadth to caricature, and that 
a speaker using them in any other capacity becomes himself 
a legitimate butt for the arrows of ridicule. 

A consonant may be defined as a simple interruption of a 
vowel sound, varied by a modification in the action of the 
organs of speech. The letters may, for facility of reference, 
be distinguished as follows : — 



84 



4 




PRONUNCIATION 








GENERAL VIEW OF THE CONSONANTS. 






2Vo. 


of sound in 


Table, 






Distinctions. 


Lesson First. Sounds. 


1. 


P • 


. sharp . . 


. 


22 


. . hope 


2. 


b . 


. flat . 




, 


23 


. . robe 


3. 


/ • • 


. sharp 


. 


. 


24 


. . knife 


4. 


V 


. flat . 


, . 


. 


25 


. . knives 


5. 


th . 


. sharp 






26 


. . bath 


6. 


th . 


. flat . . 






27 


. . bathe 


7. 


s or c (soft) 


. sharp 






28 


. . seal, cell 


8. 


z 


. flat . 


. 


. 


29 


. . zeal 


9. 


sh . 


. sharp 




. 


30 


. . show 


10. 


zh or z 


. flat . 






31 


. . azure 


11. 


t 


. sharp 


. 


. 


34 


. . hit 


12. 


d . 


. flat . 






35 


. . hid 


13. 


k or c (hard) 


. sharp 


. 


. 


36 


. . kick, pic-nic 


14. 


g (hard) . 


. flat . 


. 




37 


. • m . 


15. 


g soft orj (for c 


zh) .I 


f 


33 


. . gem, jest 


16. 


x (for gz or #,? ) 


. >compounds 


• 


44 


. . exert, box 


17. 


ch (for fa&) 


J 


1 


32 


. . charge, such 


18. 


ng or n 


. nasal . . 


. 


21 


. . rang, rank 


19. 


I . 


* ^liquids . . 


{ 


38 


. . line 


20. 
21. 


72 


39 

40 


. . mine 
. . nine 


22. 


r 


41 


. . rind 


23. 


# • 


. l vocal 
. J consonants 


{ 


43 


. . yield 


24. 


w 


42 


. . wool 


25. 


h . 


. aspirate 


. 




19 and 20 hand 



In pronouncing the consonants, the following usages will 
have to be observed : — 



GENERAL RULES. 

I. Double consonants of the same sound occuring in the same 
syllable are equivalent to a single letter ; as butt, off, shall, scene, 
pronounced but, of, shal, sene. 

When two consonants of dissimilar sound occur in the same 
syllable they are both pronounced, as in hold, resolve, defend; but 
when the sounds are discordant the weaker consonant is generally 
dropped ; as in gnome, hymn, indict, pronounced nome, hym, indite. 

II. C before a, o, or u, has the sound of k; as in can, cork, cut; 
and before e and i, the sound of s; as in centre, cinder. 

Exceptions — The words sceptic, sacrifice, suffice, pronounced skeptic, 
sacrifize, suffize. 

III. G before e and i has the sound of j; as in gentle, gin. 

Exceptions — G is hard in the following words befoi'e e and i; gibber, gib- 
berish, gibbons, giddy, gift, gig, giggle, gigglet, gimlet, gimp, gild, gird, gill (of 
a fish), girl, girth, gizzard, give, begin, noggin, gear, geese, geld, gelding, get, 
gewgaw, dagger, swagger, stagger, trigger, tiger, anger, eager, meagre, finger, 
linger, conger, stronger, younger, longer, target, together and their compounds. 

IV. Ng has the nasal sound when at the end of a word; as in 
sing, ring, writing. 



PRONUNCIATION. 85 

TV represents the nasal sound of final ng, when followed in the 
same syllable by k, or when it ends an accented syllable and the 
next begins with c, k t g (hard) or q; as in bank, con-cave, languish, 
canker, banquet, pronounced bangk, cong'-cave, lang'-guish, cang'-ker, 
bang-quet. 

N does not acquire this sound in nouns, adjectives, or verbs, 
taking an additional syllable after ng ; as in ringer, singer, winged, 
pronounced ring-er, sing-er, wing'd; except the comparatives and 
superlatives of long, strong, young, which are pronounced as if writ- 
ten long-ger, long-gest, strong-ger, strong-gest, young-ger, young-gest. 

Some speakers give improperly the nasal sound to n, pronouncing 
such words as sing, ring-er, wing-y, as if written sing-g, ring-ger, 
wing-gy. 

V. X represents z when it begins a word; gz when it is followed 
by an accented vowel ; and ks in every other position ; as in Xiphias, 
exert', anxiety, exile, box, phalanx, pronounced ziphias, eg-zert', 
ang-zi'ety ek'-sile, boks, phalanks. 

VI. Custom sanctions the following irregularities ; but it is better 
to give the consonants, as far as possible, their regular sounds: 

1. C (soft), s (sharp) and t, followed by a digraph beginning with e or i, 
or by u unaccented, are generally pronounced like sh; as in conscious, 
so'cial, nauseate, expul'sion, faction, nature, pronounced con-shus, so'-shial, 
naw'-she-ate, ex-pul'-shun, fac-shun, nat'-shure. 

2. Z and s (flat) in a similar position have a tendency to become zh; as 
in glazier, grazier, vision, pleasure, pronounced gla-zhier, gra-zhier, vi-zhun, 
pleazh-ure. 

3. The s and z of x when resolved into its primitive elements obey the 
same tendency ; as in luxury and luxurious, pronounced luk'-shury and 
lug-zhu'rious. 

4. D under like circumstances is generally allowed to run into the sound 
of j; as in soldier, verdure, pronounced sol-jer, ver-jure. 

PARTICULAR RULES. 

VII. B has only one sound, that in robe ; but is generally sunk 
before m and t in the same syllable, as in lamb, doubt, pronounced 
lam, dout. B is also silent in the word, subtle, pronounced suttle. 

VIII. C has the sounds of k and 5, as stated in Rule III; c is 
always pronounced at the end of a syllable, as in cri-tic, flac-cid ; 
but is silent in the words, indict, muscle, corpuscle, victuals, pro- 
nounced indite, mussle, cor'pussle, vittles. 

IX. C in combination with h has the following sounds : 

1. Ch has generally the sound of tsh, as in church, rich, pronounced 
tshurtsh, ritsh. 

2. Ch when preceded by I or n, has the sound of sh, as in filch, quench, 
pronounced filsh, quensh. 

3. Ch has also the sound of sh in words derived from the French ; as in 
chaise, chagrin, charade, champaign, chandelier, chevalier, charlatan, chicane, 
capuchin, machine, marchioness, cartouch, cheroot, and their compounds. 

4. Ch has the sound of k in words derived from Latin or Greek ; as in 
chaos, chasm, chyle, chord, chymist, character, chalybeate, chamomile, cha- 



86 PRONUNCIATION. 

inelion, chely, chimera, choler, chronicle, chlorosis, chorus, chalcography , 
chiromancy, chirography, chorography, scheme, school, schesis, echo, ichor, 
anchor, orchestra, drachma, cachexy, catechism, epoch, anarch, conech, distich, 
eunuch, monarch, stomach, pentateuch, technical, and their compounds. 

In charity, arch, and their compounds, ch has the sound tsh; but arch, 
signifying chief, is pronounced ark, when it begins a Greek word, and is 
followed by a vowel, as in archangel, architrave, architype, architect, archives, 
archaism. 

5. Ch is silent in the words yacht, schism, and drachm, pronounced got, 
sizm, and dram; it has the sound of k in the word ache, and has an irregular 
sound in the word choir, pronounced quire. 

X. D, except under the circumstances mentioned Rule VI, has 
generally its proper sound, as in did ; but when e is omitted in the 
past tenses and participles of verbs, d acquires, when preceded by a 
sharp consonant, the sound of t, as in tripped, passed, pronounced 
tript, past, 

XL F has its proper sound, as in for, loaf, except in the prepo- 
sition of which is sometimes pronounced as if written ov. 

XII. G has the sounds stated Rule III; but is silent before m 
or n in the same syllable, as in sign, paradigm, gnaw. 

XIII. Gh at the beginning of a word has the sound of g hard ; as 
in gherkin. At the end of a syllable gh is generally silent ; as in 
plough, fight. In the words laugh, cough, clough, enough, rough, 
tough, slough (a cast skin), draught, trough, gh has the sound of/. 
In the words burgh, burgher, gh has the sounds of g hard, and of ck, 
in the words shough, lough, hough. 

XIV. H is pronounced when it begins a word or a syllable, as in 
hold, be-hold; but is generally silent in the middle of a syllable or at 
the end of a word, as in rhu-barb, sir-rah, 

H is silent in the words hour, herb, heir, honest, humble, humour, 
honour, hospital. 

XV. J has always the same sound, a compound of d and the z of 
azure, the only exception is the word hallelujah, in which it has the 
sound of?/. 

XVI. K likewise represents uniformly the same sound, but is 
silent before n in the same syllable ; as in knee, pronounced nee. 

XVII. L has only one sound and is mute between a and k, or m, 
in the same syllable as in talk, calm, pronounced tawk, cawm ; I is 
also silent in the words calf, half, calve, halve, folk, yolk. 

XVIII. M undergoes no variation of sound except in the word 
comptroller; pronounced controller. It is silent before n; as in 
mnemonics. 

XIX. N besides its proper sound has the nasal inflection pointed 
out Rule VI; it is silent after m and /; as in hymn, kiln, pro- 
nounced hym, kil. 

XX. P has only one sound, and is silent between m and t; as in 
empty, pronounced emty; p is also dropped at the beginning of a 
word when followed by n, s, or t; as in pneumatics, psalm, ptisan; p 
becomes b, in the word cupboard, pronounced cubboard. 



PRONUNCIATION. 87 

XXI. Ph has the sound of/, as in philosopher; it is silent in 
phthisis, and has the sound of p in naphtha, ophthalmia, and diphthong. 

XXII. Q has always the sound of k, and is invariably followed 
by u, as in quote, quarter. 

XXIII. R has the trill or vibrating sound at the beginning of a 
word and the end of a syllable followed by another r or a vowel, 
but under other circumstances has generally a guttural vowel sound. 

XXIV. S has two distinct sounds; it has its hissing sharp sound 
at the beginning of words, as soon; before and after a sharp consonant 
as spear, peaks; in the accented prefix dis, as in dislocate ; in the 
prefix mis, whether accented or not ; in the terminations sive, sorry, 
sarry, sity, as in persuasive; and in the words design, desist, pre- 
side, practise. 

S has the sound z under the following circumstances: 

1. When it follows a flat consonant, or an e mute preceded by a flat 
consonant; as in robs, robes. 

2. When it terminates a word and is preceded by a liquid or ng ; as in 
rolls, hams, beans, roars, hangs. 

3. In the terminations asm and ism ; as chasm, schism. 

4. In the terminations sible, sition, sation, sal, sel, sand, sant, preceded by 
a vowel; as in feasible, position, causation, refusal, pleasant. 

5. In the termination sy, sey when the preceding syllable is accented 
and ends with a vowel or a liquid ; as in daisy, pansy. 

6. When it forms a syllable with an e mute, preceded by s, z, sh, or zh, 
or any corresponding sound ; as rose, roses, cage, cages. 

7. When it is added to form the plural of nouns ; as opera, operas. 

8. In the prefix dis, when unaccented and followed by a vowel, a flat 
consonant, or liquid ; as in disease', disdain, dislodge', disrobe'. 

9. After the prefix re; as in reserve, resume. 

10. S has also this sound in as, has, was, is, his, dissolve, possess', dessert', 
scis'sors, hus'sy, hussar, damson, crimson, absolve', observe, present', presume', 
desert, desert', deserve, desire; as also in the "verbs but not in the nouns, 
grease, close, house, mouse, abuse, excuse, diffuse, use, premise, advise, devise. 

S is silent in isle, island, aisle, demesne, puisne, viscount; and has the 
sound of sh in sure, sugar, sewer, pronounced shure, shugar, shore, as also 
under the circumstances mentioned Rule VI. 

XXV. T has generally its proper sound, and is silent in the 
terminations ten, tie, when preceded by $; as in listen, bustle, pro- 
nounced lissen, bussle. 

XXVI. Th has two sounds, either of which is employed under 
the following circumstances: — 

1 . Th has its sharp sound at the beginning and at the end of a word, in 
the middle of a word when it is preceded or followed by a consonant, and 
between two vowels in words derived from the Latin or Greek; as in thick, 
path, ethnic, author, pathos. 

The following are the chief Latin and Greek words in which th has 
this sound between two vowels : — apathy, sym'pathy, atheist, authentic, 
author, cath'olic, cathartic, cathedral, cath'eter, ether, eth'ics, let/iargy, 
Lethe (e pronounced), leviathan, lithotomy, mathematics, metath'esis, method, 
pathos, pleth'ora, amethyst, anathema, apoth'ecary, apotheosis, antipathy, 



• 88 PRONUNCIATION. 

antithesis, kypotk'esis, Ath'ens, A'thos, bathos, dithyram'bic, mythology, 
Pythagoras, Arethu'sa, polym'athy, lithography, 

2. Th has its flat sound as in bathe, clothe, wither, father, when followed 
by e mute, or when it occurs in the middle of a word under other circum- 
stances than those stated in the preceding Rule. 

Th has the sound of t in the words thyme, asthma, Thomas, Thames 
(pronounced terns), Anthony. 

XXVII. Fdoes not vary in sound, and is always pronounced as 
in vine, move, dove, We have already bad occasion to allude to the 
very common but very vulgar error of substituting w for this letter, 
and vice versa. 

XXVIIT. W has a sound closely resembling that of oo in oosy, or 
ou in ouzle, and is always pronounced, as in wind, wove, we. W is 
silent in the words whole, who, whose, whom, whoop, sword, answer, 
two, toward; and also when it occurs before r, as in wrap, wreck , 
pronounced rap, reck. 

Wh has the sound of hw; as in when, wheat, pronounced hwen, 
hweat. 

XXIX. X has the sounds pointed out Rule V, and is always 
pronounced. It has the sound of s at the end of French plurals; as 
bureaux, beaux, pronounced bureaus, beaus ; but it is better to write 
such words as they are pronounced. 

XXX. Y is a consonant only at the beginning of a word or 
syllable, and is always pronounced as in yes, churchyard. In other 
positions y is equivalent to, and obeys the same laws as, the vowel i. 

XXXI. Z has the flat sound of s, and retains this sound except 
under the circumstances stated in Rule VI. Z is silent in the French 
word rendezvous, pronounced ren'dyvoo. 

Having passed the sounds of the language in review, and 
shown how they are represented, it may be advisable to ex- 
hibit the letters in the order they are usually arranged. We 
have seen that the letters are inadequate to the duties they 
have to perform as symbols of the English sounds, and must 
therefore hope that some effort will be made to remedy the 
evil. There is no good reason why the written and spoken 
language should differ so widely. English has everything 
to gain, and will lose nothing by increased simplicity; so that 
any judicious innovation on the existing system of writing 
should be regarded at least with candour. 

There is one thing to be observed regarding the alphabet. 
Some country schoolmasters have an unwarrantable predilec- 
tion for naming the letters aw, hay, say, each, dji, instead of 
at, bee, see, aitch, jay, thus rendering their pupils incapable 
of spelling their own names intelligibly. For the benefit of 
these gentlemen we subjoin the proper designations of the 
letters. 



89 









THE ALPHABET 














Names. 








Names. 


1. 


A 


a 


. ai 


14. 


N 


n 


. en 


2. 


B 


b 


. bee 


15. 





o 


. 


3. 


C 


c 


. see 


16. 


P 


P 


. pee 


4. 


D 


d 


. dee 


17. 


Q 


q 


. cue 


5. 


E 


e 


. e 


18. 


R 


r 


. arr 


6. 


F 


f 


• eff 


19. 


S 


s 


. ess 


7. 


G 


g 


• gee 


20. 


T 


t 


. tee 


8. 


H 


h 


. aitch 


21. 


U 


u 


. you 


9. 


I 


i 


• eye 


22. 


V 


V 


. vee 


10. 


J 


j 


• J a V 


23. 


w 


w 


. double u 


11. 


K 


k 


. kay 


24. 


X 


X 


. eJcs 


12. 


L 


1 


. el 


25. 


Y 


y 


. wy 


13. 


M 


m 


. em 


26. 


Z 


z 


. zed 



The foregoing rules point out why such pronunciations as 
sOOperb, vllent, calkElate, del Ug ate, cOnnexion, demATJnd, 
regElate, evEn, direct, are faults, and show how such errors 
may be avoided. To speak in all cases correctly , the learner 
must know the proper pronunciation of every letter under 
every circumstance in which it occurs. It may be difficult to 
charge the memory with all the analogical principles requisite 
to provide for every contingency of this kind, but the general 
accuracy of the learner's pronunciation will in a great measure 
depend upon the degree of care with which the orthoepical 
tendencies of the language have been investigated. 

ORTHOGRAPHY. 

The words of the language are all more or less susceptible 
of a variety of meaning by being associated with what are 
called the prefixes and affixes. These particles, whilst they 
alter the meaning of the word to which they are joined, like- 
wise in some degree alter its form ; and it is chiefly the laws 
governing these changes that have to be considered under 
the head Orthography. 

It is necessary to remind the learner that some of the rules 
belonging to this branch of the subject have already been 
given under the head Grammar. These rules will have to be 
considered as supplementary to those that follow. 

GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

I. Monosyllables, except those ending in /, I, s, or z, have the 
final consonant single, as in slur, sum, tub. 

Exceptions — Add, butt (barrel), err, egg, ebb, odd, inn. 

II. Monosyllables ending in /, I, s, or z, preceded by a single 
vowel, have the final consonant double, as in stuff, roll, grass, buzz. 

Exceptions — As, gas, has, if, is, his, of, this, thus, us, yes, was. 

III. Polysyllables, except those ending in /or s, have the final 
consonant single, as in trinket, winter, regal. 



90 ORTHOGRAPHY. 

IV. Polysyllables ending in / or s, preceded by a single vowel, 
have the final consonant double, as in distaff, mastiff rebuff harass, 
caress, witness. 

Exceptions — Alas, bias, dowlas; compounds with mas, as Christ- 
mas, Michaelmas, Lammas ; and words adopted from other languages, 
as axis, basis, calculus. 

V. Monosyllables ending in k have ck after a single vowel, as in 
shock, sick, knock, but k only after a double vowel, as in croak, book, 
peak, and after a consonant, as in hawk, ask, shrink. 

Exceptions — Disc, pic-nic, zinc. 

VI. In polysyllables k is omitted after c, as publick, critick, 
almanack, now written public, critic, almanac. 

Exceptions — Attack, ransack, mattock, fetlock, forelock. 

K is however restored before an augment beginning with e or s, 
as mimic, mimicker, mimicking ; frolic, frolicker, frolicking ; traffic, 
trafficker, trafficking. 

VII. Compound words generally retain all the letters of the 
simples, as in uphill, allwise, football, hereafter, telltale, thereon. 

Exceptions — The word tell drops an I in foretel; till in until; 
well in welfare, welcome; all in almighty, always, already, withal; 
call in recal, miscal; roll in enrol, disenrol; stall in forestal, reinstal; 
and compounds of fall, full, fill, and skill, invariably drop one I, as 
in fulfil, skilful, downfal, befal. 

All the dictionaries vary less or more in the orthography of these words. 
Johnson omits one / in most words of this class, but his editors restored the 
missing letter ; and Webster, the American lexicographer, writes all the 
words in the foregoing list of exceptions with 11. Walker is somewhat 
inconsistent in his treatment of them, for he writes forestal, waterfal, and 
recal, with //, and gives only one I to reinstal, downfal, and miscal. Smart 
rectifies these anomalies by omitting an / from all the words; but whilst he 
writes enrol with one I, he gives disenrol two. The general tendency 
appears to reject an I in combining words ending in 11; and consequently, 
where usage is doubtful, that is the proper course for the learner to pursue. 

VIII. When e and i in combination have the sound of ee in been, 
the e generally follows the i, as in grief, field, achieve; but words 
in ceive and ceit, the e precedes i, as in conceive, deceit, as also in 
the words inveigle, ceiling, plebeian, either, neither, and seize. 

IX. Where usage fluctuates between the terminations ant and ent, 
the latter should be preferred. 

Walker gives both dependance and dependence. Smart recognises only 
the latter form, but suggests that independent should have the termination 
ent when used as an adjective, and ant when used as a noun. We always 
say a correspondent, a superintendent, analogy therefore admits an indepen- 
dent; and so in the case of the dei'ivatives dependence, independent. This 
rule does not apply to such adjectives as redundant, abundant, which without 
exception terminate in ant. 

X. As lexicographers vary in the application of the terminations 
er, or, ery, ory, and ary, the following observations may be useful. 

1. Er and ery are English substantive terminations, which when joined 
to English verbs convert them into nouns ; as, to bake, baker, bakery ; to 
brew, brewer, brewery. 



ORTHOGRAPHY. 91 

2. Or, ory, and ary, are likewise substantive terminations, but are used 
with nouns derived from the Latin ; as, to expostulate, expostulator, ex- 
postulatory ; to deprecate, deprecator, deprecatory. 

It is to be noticed that usage tends to substitute the English for the 
Latin terminations; as, to deliver, deliverer, delivery. In some cases er has 
completely superseded the use of or, as in dispenser, informer, exhauster ; 
but in a few instances both terminations are recognised, as in director and 
directer. Where, however, usage is doubtful, er should be preferred to or, 
as observor, devotor, exhibitor, should be observer, devoter, exhibiter. 

3. Ory and ary may be regarded as equivalent Latin terminations ; ory 
is appended to words derived from Latin adjectives in orius, as oratory, 
from oratorius; ary to Latin adjectives in arius, as voluntary, from voluntarius. 
The distinction between these two affixes depending upon other than purely 
English analogy, there is great irregularity in their usage ; we have in 
consequence both accessory and accessary, receptory and receptary, in the 
language, with no tangible reason for preferring the one to the other form, 
and a recent controversy relative to the respective merits of sanitary and 
sanatory will be fresh in the recollection of some of our readers. Keeping 
out of view the opinions of the learned, it appears to be a general rule that 
when the vowel a precedes a single consonant, ory is almost invariably 
employed, as in amatory, conciliatory, interrogatory ; and that when e or i 
precedes a single consonant ary is generally used, secretary, oner ary, tute- 
lary, ordinary, diciplinary, veterinary. 

XL Where usage is doubtful the termination or should be pre- 
ferred to our; as error for err our ; splendor for splendour ; emperor 
for emperour. 

Some lexicographers always use the Latin termination or for the French 
affixrar; but usage still rejects this innovation, especially in such words 
as behaviour, endeavour, colour. 

XII. The initial syllables in, en 9 im, and em, from the similarity 
of their pronunciation, are apt to be confounded ; it will therefore be 
advisable for the learner to bear the following distinctions in mind. 

1. In prefixed to verbs signifies in or into ; as, to in-close, to in-ject, to 
in-lay : inclose is, however, almost always written enclose. 

2. In, im, or ig, prefixed to an adjective, generally have a negative 
signification ; as, invisible, immaterial, ignoble. 

3. En or em never implies a negative; enviolate, emmovable, should 
therefore be written inviolate, immovable. 

4. En and em convert nouns and adjectives into verbs, or give verbs 
additional emphasis ; as, en-rage, en-chain, en-gulf, en-noble, em-balm. 

XIII. The termination ize is written ise by some modern authors; 
as centralise, civilise, generalise, for centralize, civilize, generalize. 

Usage is somewhat unsettled on this point ; so far as prosody is con- 
cerned it is immaterial which form of the affix is employed, both forms 
being pronounced precisely alike. 

It is necessary, however, to observe that there is a theoretical distinction 
between the terminations ise and ize : the former is properly part of a word 
and not an affix, as in apprise, arise, advise; whilst the latter is a movable 
particle, as in fertilize from fertile ; stigmatize from stigma ; apostrophize 
from apostrophe. The affix ize is correctly employed when it converts a 
noun into a verb. The word merchandise is often incorrectly written mer' 
chandize ; this word ought properly to be written merchandice to rhyme 



92 ORTHOGRAPHY. 

with cowardice : at all events it bears no relation either in prosody or 
grammar to cowardize. It is in a great measure optional whether this affix 
is written with s or z, but the learner should be consistent ; it would be a 
fault to write sympathize with a z and dramatize with an s } one or other 
mode should be uniformly maintained. 

XIV. When the vowel of a first syllable has its open sound, it is 
generally followed by a single consonant; as in later, penal, title, 
total, superb. 

When the vowel of a first syllable has its shut sound, it is generally 
followed by a double consonant; as in latter, petty, tittle, bottle, supper. 

But the vowels of initial syllables have often the same sound 
whether followed by a single or double consonant; as in apathy, 
opposite, imitate, imminent, medal, meddle. 

XV. When a prefix ending in a consonant is joined to a word 
beginning with the same letter, both consonants are generally retained ; 
as in with-hold, un-named, en-noble, con-nect, dissolve im-merge. 

Prefixes of Latin origin generally change the final consonant to correspond 
with the initial letter of the root: ad (to) becomes ac, af, ag, at, an, ar, as, 
at, when joined to a word beginning with one or other of these consonants; 
as in ac-cede, al-lure, af-fix. In the same way con (with) becomes col, com, 
cor; dis (of, from,) becomes dif; in (in, un) becomes il, im, ir; ob (for, fore) 
becomes oc, of, op, etc.; sub (near) becomes sue, suf, sup; as in col-lapse, 
dif-fuse, ir-radiate. The final consonant of these prefixes is often dropped ; 
as in a-vert, co-heir, di-verge. 

A variety of changes are being gradually wrought in the 
orthography of the language. It will be advisable for the 
learner to note these changes, and to adopt them as they come 
into general use; unless, indeed, they are foreign to the genius 
or tendencies of the language, in which case 3 though supported 
by a volume of learning, they ought to be decidedly rejected. 

SPECIAL RULES. 

XVI. When a syllable is added to a word ending in any double 
consonant, except 11 both letters are retained, as cross, crosser, crossish, 
crossly, crossness; stiff, stiffly, stiffness; possess, possessor, possession. 

XVII. Words ending in II drop one I before a consonant ; as chill, 
chilly. 

Exceptions — both Vs are retained before the affix ness; as, illness, 
stillness, shrillness, smallness, tallness. 

XVIII. Monosyllables and words of more than one syllable having 
the accent on the last, ending in a single consonant preceded by a 
single vowel, double the final consonant before an affix beginning 
with a vowel; as, star, starry; wit, witty; rid, riddance; begin, 
beginner; recur, recurrence. 

Exceptions — Polysyllables ending in I double the final consonant 
whether the accent falls on the last syllable or not; as travel, travel- 
ler, no'vel, novellist, gambol, gambolling. 

When the accent does not fall on the last syllable, or when the final con- 
sonant is preceded by a double vowel, no reduplication of the consonant 
takes place, a3, maid, maiden; sister, sisterly ; deliver, deliverance. 

The word worshiper is now generally written with a single consonant. 



PUNCTUATION. 93 

XIX. When a syllable beginning with a vowel is added to a word 
ending in e mute, the e is rejected; as, mire, miry; rogue, roguish; 
blame, blamable. 

Exceptions — When g or c soft precedes e mute, e is retained before 
able and ous ; as, change, changeable ; peace, peaceable ; courage, 
courageous, 

XX. When a syllable beginning with a consonant is added to 
a word ending in e mute, the e is retained ; as in hopeless, useful, 
pureness, closely, chastisement ; but — 

1. Le is dropped before ly ; as noble, nobly ; able, ably ; humble, humbly ; 
and their co)upounds ; except solely, vilely, supplely. 

2. Silent e before fy, ty, and ous, preceded by a consonant, is changed 
into i; as pure, purify, purity ; active, activity; space, spacious. 

3. Silent e is omitted before a consonant in the combinations, awful, duly, 
duty, hatred, nursling, only, truth, truly, width, wisdom. 

The words judgement, acknowledgement, abridgement, and lodgement, 
are included by most grammarians in this list of exceptions; but Smart 
retains the e in these words, and it is always better, where usage is doubtful, 
to follow a general rule. 

XXI. When a syllable is added to a word ending in y, preceded 
by a consonant, y is changed into i; as pity, pitiful ; fancy, fanciful; 
rely, reliance; holy, holiday, holily, holiness; but — 

1. Y preceded by t is changed into e before ous; as, duty, duteous; 
bounty, bounteous. 

2. Y retains its form before ish ; as, baby, babyish ; boy, boyish ; likely, 
likelyish. 

3. Y of the words dry, shy, sly, retains its form before ly and ness ; as, 
dryness, shyly, slyness. 

XXII. When a syllable is added to a word ending in y preceded 
by a vowel, y retains its form; as, play, playful; joy, joyous; portray, 
portrayer; but — 

In the derivatives of day, gay, y though preceded by a vowel is changed 
into i ; as, daily, gaily, gaiety. 

The Rules given under the head Pronunciation are like- 
wise calculated to aid the learner in the right spelling of 
words; accuracy in Orthography will however require, in 
addition to the rules, much careful reading, some practice in 
writing, and a diligent exercise of the memory. 



94 



PUNCTUATION. 



The learner, in writing, will have to separate properly the 
various heads and clauses of the subject by the signs or stops 
used for that purpose. A sentence may be grammatically 
correct, and yet from the omission or misapplication of a 
point may be unintelligible or convey a meaning very different 
from that which the writer intended. It will be observed, 
for example, that the sentence, ' The two travellers were found 
on the road, assassinated by their companion/ signifies some- 
thing very different from 'The two travellers were found on 
the road assassinated, by their companion f in the one case 
the traveller is said to have discovered his companions on the 
road, in the other he is accused of having assassinated them. 

The points or stops used in writing, are 

The comma ( , ) 

The semicolon ( ; ) 

The colon ( : ) 

The point or period ( . ) 

The Comma is used to prevent the words of one clause of 
a simple sentence from being confounded with those of another; 
the sentence f we may praise love, and admire beauty,' means 
that we may praise the sentiment called love, and admire the 
sentiment called beauty ; but the same sentence with commas 
introduced thus, ( we may praise, love, and admire beauty,' 
signifies that we may praise the sentiment called beauty, love 
the sentiment called beauty, and admire the sentiment called 
beauty. The following quotation will shew more clearly the 
confusion that may arise from an improper use of this point : 

"Caesar entering on his head, his helmet on his feet, armed sandals on 
his hrow, there was a cloud in his right hand, his faithful sword in his eye, 
an angry glare, saying nothing he sat down." 

The comma thus materially affects the meaning of a sen- 
tence, and must therefore be used with care; the learner 
should mark off all the clauses of a sentence likely to be 
improperly connected, but should not employ a comma where 
the sense is perfectly clear and distinct without one. In using 
the comma it may be useful to bear in mind the following 
general rules. 

1. In a simple sentence, as 'Three travellers found a treasure on their 
way,' no confusion is likely to arise, a comma would therefore be super 
fluous; but where an explanatory or incidental clause is introduced, it 
should be marked off; thus, 'Three travellers, who were perishing with 
hunger, found a treasure on their way.' 

2. When two or more such clauses are introduced, each should be 
marked off, as ' Three travellers, who were perishing with cold, hunger, 
and fatigue, found a treasure on their way.' 



PUNCTUATION. 95 

3. When two words or short clauses are connected by a conjunction, a 
comma is unnecessary ; as • Three travellers found a treasure and were 
highly delighted with their prize;' but when a conjunction connects two 
distinct clauses, a comma should be introduced, as ' Three travellers found 
a treasure, but gold and silver are valueless in the desert, and the travellers 
were perishing with hunger.' 

4. When a conjunction follows the first of three clauses, and belongs to 
the last, it is usually marked off; thus, ' Three travellers found a treasure 
on their way, and, after having procured something to eat, continued their 
journey.' 

5. When two or more nominatives precede a verb, or two or more 
adjectives a noun, each is marked off, except the last; as 'Three very 
cold, very wet, and very weary travellers.' 'Three travellers, a treasure, 
and the materials for a repast were found on the road.' 

6. W T hen two or more verbs are governed by the same nominative, each 
is marked off; as, ' The traveller who departed, buys food, brings it to his 
companions, and resumes his journey.' 

These rules are merely suggestive; commas may or may 
not be employed under the circumstances stated, all will 
depend upon the meaning the writer intends a sentence to 
convey. A multitude of rules might be given for the use of 
the comma, all of which would only reiterate the principle, 
that the comma should be employed whenever perspicuity 
requires the clauses of a sentence to be distinguished by its 
intervention. 

Besides the foregoing uses of the comma, a single pair of 
inverted commas are employed to give prominence to a par- 
ticular word or phrase, thus " The sentences 'let one of us go,' 
and' one of us must go/ are nearly equivalent in meaning;" 
a double pair of inverted commas are employed to mark a 
quotation, as 'The phrase "let one of us go," quoted from the 
text/ an inverted comma is likewise used to mark the omission 
of one or more letters, as 'don't' for 'do not,' 'tis for 'it is,' 
'tho' ' for 'though/ when a comma is used in this way, it is 
called an apostrophe. 

The Semicolon is used to separate the clauses of a com- 
pound sentence. When a sentence consists of several clauses 
containing commas, they are separated by semicolons; a 
distinct but dependent clause is likewise marked off by a 
semicolon, as 'Three travellers were hungry; one of them 
departed in search of something to eat/ 

The Colon is used to mark off an illustrative observation 
or supplementary remark appended to a sentence complete in 
itself, as 'The three travellers are rich: that bag is filled 
with pearls/ 

Generally the colon and semicolon are used wherever a 
comma would fail to mark the separation of two clauses with 
a sufficient degree of distinctness, but in applying these points 



96 PUNCTUATION. 

to particular cases the logical affinities of the sentence will have 
to be considered in determining which should be employed : the 
sentence 'Avarice prompted the travellers to speak advisedly/ 
means that avarice induced the travellers to speak in a 
particular manner; but introduce a colon thus, f Avarice 
prompted the travellers: to speak advisedly,' and the clause 
e to speak advisedly' becomes a parenthetical remark totally 
independent of the preceding sentence. An indiscriminate 
or improper use of these points might often render the best 
composition vague and obscure. 

The Period is used to show where the sense terminates, 
or to mark off a group of words that have no necessary 
connexion with the succeeding series. Some writers, especially 
those engaged in the public press, use the period whenever 
the sense requires a lengthened pause, breaking up their 
subject into a multitude of short abrupt sentences; this 
practice gives a curt formality to the style, which contrasts 
unfavourably with more graceful and less constrained language 
of those writers who make a sparing but judicious use of this 
point. 

The period is used to mark a contraction, as 'etc' for 
e etcetera;' c viz/ for ' videlicet;' l M. P.' for e member of par- 
liament.' 

INCIDENTAL POINTS. 

The following marks are likewise occasionally used in 
writing : — 

The note of admiration ( ! ) 
The note of interrogation (?) 
The dash ( — ) 

The hyphen, as in dew( - )drop. 
The parenthesis ( ) 

Brackets 

I. The note of admiration is used after invocations or any em- 
phatic expression ; as ' Thomas ! you are wanted.' ■ How cold the 
weather is ! ' 

1. This point is always used after interjections and ejaculatory expres- 
sions ; as O ! Oh ! Ah ! Very good ! What a pity ! 

O ! is generally used with invocations ; as 'O peace ! ' Oh ! with 
expressions of feeling. ' Oh ! that was one of my foolish mistakes.' 

2. The note of admiration is placed after the word or clause that is 
exclamatory or emphatic; as 'When he started, lo! the rain came on.' 
' How scanty their size ! they shrink into pompous nothings.' 

3. When the emphasis runs through an entire clause the point is placed 
at the end ; as ' How close the suitableness of the earth and sea to their 
several inhabitants, and these inhabitants to their place of appointed 
residence ! ' 

4. When a sentence, arranged interrogatively, merely involves an 
exclamation, a note of admiration is used j as ' Are we startled at these 



PUNCTUATION. 97 

reports of philosophy ! Let us attend our philosophical guides, and we 
shall be brought acquainted with speculations yet more enlarged.' — Addison. 
' What misery must he suffer, who lives in perpetual dread ! ' — Blair. 

II. The note of interrogation indicates a question ; as ■ Where is 
he?' 

1. This point should not be used unless a question is expressed. • When 
I called he asked me to dinner?' is not a question, and consequently the 
adhibition of a note of interrogation to such a sentence is an error. 

But in ' When I called, he said, will you come to dinner ? ' the use of 
the point is, here, legitimate. 

2. When several distinct questions occur in a sentence, the note of 
interrogation is appended to each ; as ' Where is he ? ' ' When did he 
arrive ? ' ' Can I see him ? ' ' When will you call ? ' ' This evening ? ' 

3. It is an error to use this point in an incomplete sentence; ' Why? 
and when did he come?' should be ' Why and when did he come ?' 

4. As a note of interrogation is considered equivalent to a full stop, no 
other point should be used after it, and the succeeding word should begin 
with a capital letter. 

5. Some writers use this point after an indirect or dependent question ; 
as ' Ask where he is ? ' 'If we demand an answer ? He can scarcely refuse 
it.' This use of the note of interrogation is however scarcely legitimate. 

III. The dash is used to indicate an interruption or a change in 
the subject ; as ' Let me be clearly understood — it is not the army 
but the navy I mean.' ' Please your honour, quoth Trim, the 
Inquisition is the vilest — ." ' 'Prithee spare thy description, Trim. 1 

1. Cobbett and some other authorities decry the use of this point in no 
measured terms; it is nevertheless useful, and is employed by our best 
authors. The following examples from a modern writer will show generally 
the circumstances under which the dash is used : ' I have certainly drank 
worse, said the knight gravely — at an infantry mess.' ' He recounted the 
narrative of his arrival — his concealment in the canoe — the burning of the 
law papers, and even the discovery of the car.' ' How does the doggerel 
run — ay, here it is — .' ' One of King James's Lords, forsooth ! — why, 
what country gentleman of any pretension would give precedence to such 
a fellow as that ; he neither reads, writes, nor speaks English — and the 
other — .' ' Every civil appointment must be filled up by them — the law — 
the church — the revenue — must all be theirs.' 'You shake your head — . 
No, it is by no means impossible — nay, I do not think it even remote.' 

2. The dash is used after another point to lengthen the pause ; ' They 
say Thomas has arrived. — Arrived ! yes, many weeks ago.' 

3. When the leading word of the first clause is repeated in the second 
clause of a sentence, a dashed comma is used ; ' That is his opinion, — an 
opinion, perhaps not new, but — ' 

4. Under ordinary circumstances, when a comma, semicolon, or colon, 
may be substituted, the dash is improper; 'The sun has set — the night 
dews fall — and the air which was sultry and oppressive — becomes cool,' 
should be ' The sun has set ; the night dews fall ; and the air, which was 
sultry and oppressive, becomes cool.' 

5. The dash sometimes marks the omission of the preposition to; ' He 
has a salary of 3 — 400 dollars ; ' ' Hume's History of England, 1 — 14.' 

6. The dash is occasionally used to give emphasis to an antithesis ; as 
' The mountain laboured and brought forth — a mouse ! ' 

7. A dash follows the general title at the beginning, and precedes the 
author's name, at the end of a subject ; as, — 

H 



98 PUNCTUATION. 

'The Distance of the Stars. — A ball shot from a loaded cannon, and 
Hying with unabated rapidity, must travel at this impetuous rate almost 
seven hundred thousand years, before it could reach the smallest of these 
luminaries. ' — Addison. 

IV. The hyphen is used to connect words and syllables; as 
' The English word above is derived from the Saxon on-be-ufan.'' 

1. When two distinct words are used to designate or qualify a single 
object, they are connected by a hyphen ; as 'snake-like,' 'toil-hardened,' 
' tea-pot,' ' post-office.' 

This rule is not much attended to by our best writers, now that such 
compound attributives, as ' strong-able-to-bear-much-fatigue bodies,' have 
gone out of fashion. 

The adverbs, to-day, to-night, to-morrow, are old forms of the day, the 
night, the morrow, and the particle is sometimes connected by a hyphen, 
and sometimes written without — usage is not fixed in this respect ; together 
means the gether, just as to-morrow means the morrow ; and it appears to 
us that the particle might as well be connected with the word in the one 
case as in the other. 

When figures are written, units are generally connected by a hyphen 
with the tews; as ' Thirty-five hundred ; ' 'Twenty-eight shillings;' 'Sixty- 
nine miles.' 

In general, when the parts of a compound word are closely connected, 
they may be written together, as wellbred, forenoon, bootjack ; but, until 
common usage sanctions this correction, it will be better to write them 
apart; as ' salt-cellar,' 'market-place,' ' post-housed 

2. The hyphen is used to connect prefixes ending in a vowel to words 
beginning with a vowel; as co-ordinate, co-eval. 

There does not appear to be much reason for this practice whilst we 
have such words, as zoology, create, in the language. 

3. When there is not sufficient space at the end of a line for an entire 
word, a hyphen indicates that a portion has been carried to the succeeding 
line. In this case it is improper to divide the word in the middle of a 
syllable. 

V. A parenthesis is used to mark off an incidental clause occur- 
ring in the text; as 'At Cologne (called Coin by the Germans) 
there is a bridge of boats. 

1. It is an abuse of this point to employ it in cases where the paren- 
thetical clause may be easily blended with the context : ' Neither Jews nor 
Christians (on account of their impurity) were allowed to be present in 
Egypt at the opening of the Nile, lest (by reason of that impurity) they 
might prevent the overflowing of the waters,' should be, 'Neither Jews 
nor Christians were allowed to be present in Egypt at the opening of the 
Nile, lest, by their impurity, they might prevent the overflowing of the 
waters.' 

2. A parenthesis is employed to enclose an explanatory observation, or 
an extraneous remark; as, 'He (the Minister of Foreign Affairs) thought 
it unnecessary to enter into lengthened explanations relative to the actual 
state of our relations with Spain. (Hear!) That country rarely had a mini- 
stry long enough in power to admit of our entering into friendly relations 
with it (laughter). 

3. A reference to an authority occurring in the text is likewise marked 
off by a parenthesis ; as ' Some laws of King Alfred are still in force. 
(Blackstone, book 2, chap, xi.) 

4. A sentence is punctuated according to the sense without regard to the 



PUNCTUATION. 99 

parenthesis; as, 'This dial-plate (if we may credit the fable) changed 
countenance with alarm.' « He excelled in the game of chess (the result of 
much practice), which was the only game recognised at the ducal court.' 

VI. Brackets are used to separate a remark or observation from 
a subject, or to mark off' a sentence that has no immediate connexion 
with the context; as 'I know the banker I deal with, the physician 
I usually call in [There is no need, cried Dr. Slop (waking), to call 
in a physician in this case] — to be neither of them men of religion.' 

The only other points that remain to be mentioned are : 
the asterisk or star (*), the obelisk (f), the double obelisk ($), 
and the paragraph (H), these referring to notes at the foot of a 
printed page, are not used in writing; and a mark thus (§), 
which is occasionally used instead of the word section. 

For practice in punctuation it will be advisable for the 
learner, after having acquired the rules, to transcribe a portion 
of some author, omitting the points and capitals, to be after- 
wards filled in. This exercise, when compared with the 
original, will show where the learner, or the author himself, 
has erred. 



Capital Letters. — In English books of an early date all 
nouns begin with capital letters; writers of a more recent 
period seem to have used capital letters freely, whenever their 
taste or fancy suggested: at present the practice is to begin 
with a capital letter the first word of every book, chapter, 
letter, note, or other piece of writing; the first word of every 
sentence following a period; names of persons, places, streets, 
ships, months, days, rivers, seas, mountains, as ' John,' * James/ 
4 Tuesday,' ' the island of St. Helena/ ' the United States/ 
adjectives derived from proper names, as * the Roman forum/ 
' the British possessions/ * the vivacity of the French / the 
principal words in the titles of books ; as ' English Without a 
Master/ ( the Bride of Lammermoor/ Titles likewise begin 
with capital letters, as ' Her Majesty the Queen/ ( the Duke of 
Wellington/ ' the French Republic/ but when these designa- 
tions occur otherwise than as portions of a proper name, they 
are not written with capitals; as, the title of duke ceased to 
exist when the republic was proclaimed in France :' ' the 
majesty of the throne.' The pronoun ' 1/ and the interjection 
' 0/ are always capitals ; and the most important word of a 
particular subject, or any word or phrase that requires more 
than ordinary prominence may begin with a capital. 



100 



HOW THE LEARNER SHOULD NOW PROCEED. 

The general rules of grammar and the rudimentary principles 
of construction being known, the learner will have to endeavour 
by practice to acquire a habit of writing and speaking correctly 
and fluently. 

It will be advisable, at the outset, to continue the process of 
analysis and re-construction suggested under the head Synthesis. 
By transposing and re-arranging an author's words and sentences, 
a command over the language will be attained, not so readily 
acquired by other means. For this purpose, some work of modern 
date and good repute will have to be selected, such, for example, 
as Campbell's Lives of the Chancellors, or Macaulay's History 
of England. Our modern novelists and essayists, with the 
exception perhaps of Bulwer, seem to affect a characteristic quaint- 
ness of language, rather than graceful diction or rigid purity of 
composition; and the B lairs, Addisons, and Johnsons, of the past 
century, though still authorities in some respects, can scarcely be 
considered faithful mirrors of the language as it actually exists. 
The periodical press is a good authority in matters of ordinary 
detail. The scholarly articles of the Quarterlies generally exhibit 
a correct adaptation of the innovations to which both the voca- 
bulary and construction of the language are constantly subject ; 
they might therefore be consulted with advantage. 

The chief authorities in matters of verbal criticism are Lowitis 
and Booth's Grammars, Harris's Hermes, and the Diversions of 
Purley: Latham's recent Introduction to the Language likewise 
conveys a large amount of information on this branch of enquiry. 

To correct a faulty pronunciation, it will be necessary first to 
ascertain the manner in which. the sounds are enunciated by polite 
speakers, either orally or by such means as we have pointed out ; 
the general rules of prosody will next have to be acquired, and 
the exceptions, however numerous, committed to memory ; recourse 
being had in every case of doubt to some good pronouncing 
dictionary. It should be borne in mind, that a natural uncon- 
strained utterance is of primary importance, — hesitation or em- 
barrassment in reading or speaking, is a greater evil than even 
an erroneous pronunciation. 

A moderate degree of study, careful observation, and practice, 
will enable the learner to speak and write with accuracy and 
precision ; without which, a most important truth, or a well con- 
ceived thought, might fall unmeaningly on the ear, or appear to 
the eye utterly unintelligible. 



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